There must be an investigation of the city of Oneonta Police Department by an independent agency. No ifs, no ands and no buts.
Whatever difficulties there might be with union contracts or hurt feelings or finding an appropriate investigator, it must be done.
We believe this strongly, not because we do not believe in the honesty, honor and integrity of the vast majority of Oneonta's police officers.
But because we do.
Two veteran officers have abruptly resigned when confronted with the evidence against them, and the city is taking steps to fire a third.
There may be worse kinds of scandals that could affect the trust local citizens have in their cops, but this one is certainly more than bad enough.
While no one in city government or the police department is publicly revealing the intimate details of what happened, it would appear that the officers stand accused of using squad cars to facilitate sexual encounters with female college students in an Oneonta park.
Sgt. Andrew Barber and officer Joseph Stockdale resigned Oct. 5. Officer Daniel Fetterman, sources tell this newspaper, has also been implicated and has been suspended without pay as he awaits a hearing to determine his future with the department.
Based on years of witnessing their work, we have the utmost confidence in Police Chief Joseph Redmond and Lt. Dennis Nayor, who have acted quickly and professionally since learning Sept. 29 about the incidents.
But an internal investigation will not be enough to restore the reputations of the honest cops who would be unfairly tarred by the same tawdry brush as those who stand accused.
No matter how diligent the police department might be, it will still look like a whitewash unless an outside agency is brought in.
Based on early information provided by the city and police, Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl has determined that no criminal activity occurred.
But there are still many more questions to be answered. For instance:
Were the officers guilty of criminal trespass when they allegedly entered a park facility? Were they supposed to be on duty someplace else?
Did they falsify any work logs or lie to superiors about their activities? Were the young women they were allegedly with coerced in any way?
Did any other officer know or suspect anything and keep silent? Why did the alleged activities take months to come to light? Was there proper department training involving ethics and procedures?
For the sake of all the good cops in Oneonta, as well as the public's peace of mind, an independent inquiry is absolutely essential.
