No Charges Yet in Off-Duty Trooper Break-in
By: Jennifer Lee
Updated: January 4, 2012
Questions are still unanswered in an incident that happened this past weekend.
An off-duty New York State Trooper reportedly broke into a person's home Saturday morning.
Several Utica police officers responded to a burglary in progress. When officers arrived on the scene they found two injured men, one of them a trooper.
The break-in happened at 27 Beverly place in Utica. Officials say 31-year-old Trooper Jesse Miller broke in and confronted a man who lived there. Then a fight happened leaving the trooper and victim in the hospital. Both were treated for injuries.
But, many neighbors and community members are wondering why the off-duty trooper has not yet been charged.
The UPD says the incident is still being investigated and they're treating the case no differently than any other investigation.
"There are details that we still don't know. Our job is to do the most thorough investigation we can. It's not to do it quickly for the sake of expediency. It's to do it thoroughly and to have the right conclusion at the end. The victim deserves that and so does the suspect," said Sgt. Steve Hauck of the UPD.
"This matter the State Police takes very seriously. We want to ensure that the public is safe. We have suspended Trooper Miller so that the public can be assured that they will receive the best service from the state police," explained Captain Francis Coots.
State Police say they've initiated an administrative investigation to find out if any rules and regulations were violated.
