ALTAMONT — Anthony Salerno, hired in August as the village’s new public safety commissioner, has drafted a mission statement for the police department. In February, at the village trustees monthly meeting, he plans to unveil his restructuring of the department.
"I feel it’s important we set a guidance of what our accomplishments are to the public," Salerno told The Enterprise this week.
The page-long mission statement says that Altamont Police will "provide professional, high-quality, and effective police service in partnership with the community."
It also says the department values "an ethical, caring, and diverse community, which is characterized by honesty, integrity, respect, fairness, empathy, equal opportunity, trust, and civility."

Salerno, who has worked for 19 years as an investigator with the Albany Police and continues to work for that department, said he developed the mission statement himself and it’s new to the village police.

Formerly, he said, Altamont Police were largely known for their traffic patrols and he is focusing on other areas as well.
The statement lists five "values," the first being: "We act to meet the emergency and daily needs of the community to preserve peace and order, to reduce crime and its effect, and to aid traffic safety."
Other values stress "a professional and well-trained staff," enhancing the "quality of life" through an "active partnership with the citizens and business community of Altamont," recognizing diversity in the community, and respecting individual rights.
"Most professional agencies have a mission statement," said Salerno. "We needed one."

Hearing complaints

Salerno is also producing a set of standard operating procedures, now in draft form, which are about as thick as a metropolitan telephone directory.

As part of this, about two weeks ago, he said, he printed the department’s first personnel complaint form. Starting this week, Salerno said, the forms will be available at the clerk’s office in Village Hall. They can also be requested through the mail or from a police officer.

Salerno will get back to the person lodging the complaint, he said.

Colin Abele, of Berne, a clerk at Ketchum’s Service Store, made a complaint two weeks ago, accusing Officer Joshua Davenport of intimidation and harassment. Abele wrote a letter to the Enterprise editor, and also spoke to Salerno about his allegations.

Last week, Salerno announced, in a release, that he had completed an investigation of the complaint, and the officer had been suspended without pay and would be required to attend human-relations training.

This week, Salerno said that Davenport had been suspended for one work week, which, because he works part-time, amounted to two days. He is now back at work.
Asked what the investigation had shown, Salerno said, "Some things have been substantiated...They have been addressed." He declined to comment further on what was substantiated or how they were addressed.
Asked what the suspension had accomplished, Salerno said, "We addressed the issue accurately and quickly...We all make mistakes...We don’t want personality to get involved."
He went on to say, "We treat everyone the same, whether it’s someone in the court system that we arrested or one of our officers...I hold our officers to a higher standard. I want people to work to their full potential. They’re holding a position where their ethics and morals matter."

Abele told The Enterprise last week, after he received a letter from Salerno saying his complaints were substantiated, "I don’t think I want him removed from the force." He said he just wanted Davenport to change his conduct.
Abele concluded, "I’m perfectly willing to put this behind me. I hope that he learned some lessons, and I learned some lessons myself."