George Bird, Cobleskill’s deputy police chief, isn’t concerned about disciplinary actions taken against him while he was with the State Police.
Police Chief Jim McCrum isn’t worried, either, and neither is Mayor Becky Stanton-Terk.
Both have worked with Mr. Bird since the village hired the retired State Police investigator last year.
The discipline is listed in “New York State Police Misconduct + Discipline Data” by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The report analyzes more than 18,000 records about the State Police between 2000 and 2020.
Mr. Bird is cited eight times.
The most serious of those was disobeying orders and instructions in 2008. Mr. Bird was suspended without pay for 10 days and on probation for 180 days.
“I ran into the woods to confront an armed suspect in Jefferson but I didn’t have my gun,” Mr. Bird said Monday.
“I was suspended––and rightly so. I endangered my life. It made me think.”
That was the only time Mr. Bird was suspended. He was censured or counseled for the others.
One of those was an EZ Pass violation in 2001. He was following another trooper who was chasing an armed robber, and Mr. Bird said he drove “through the EZ Pass in case the trooper needed back-up.”
One more citation was for lost property in 2006. Mr. Bird said he responded to a rollover accident on snowy I-88, had to break a car window with his baton and lost the baton in the snow.
He couldn’t recall the other incidents––listed as lost property, disobeying orders and improper handling of evidence––but said such episodes aren’t out of the ordinary.
“Over the course of 32 years in the State Police, these things happen,” Mr. Bird said.
A former State Police investigator himself, Chief McCrum often worked with Mr. Bird, and he agreed with his assessment.
“George has a very strong work ethic,” he said. “If he wasn’t such a hard worker, he wouldn’t have had those disciplinary actions.
“Sometimes being too good at what you do can get you in trouble. He deserved the punishment, but what he did was not with malicious intent.”
Chief McCrum was aware of the disciplinary actions before the village hired Mr. Bird and has no problems working with him.
Mayor Stanton-Terk also knew of the actions and had no issues hiring the deputy chief––even though the charges against Mr. Bird are similar to those Mayor Stanton-Terk leveled against former Cobleskill Police officers last month.
Mr. Bird’s main job with the Cobleskill PD is going through the department’s evidence locker, which has thousands of items that were never returned or disposed of.
Mayor Stanton-Terk detailed those issues in her scathing report to the village board last month.
“I volunteered to clean up the mess that was left behind,” Mr. Bird said, referring to the eight Cobleskill officers who resigned in July.
“It was nothing short of horrific. I’m trying to make things right. It’s only temporary.”
When he’s finished in Cobleskill, Mr. Bird plans to return to his job at Rivers Casino. Now, however, he admires the job Chief McCrum has done.
“His navigating through this is really noteworthy,” Mr. Bird said. “I’ve never been so impressed.”