Bucky Phillips manhunt controversy

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The Bucky Phillips manhunt controversy refers to the alleged pattern of police misbehavior during the massive law enforcement 2006 manhunt for escaped prisoner Ralph Bucky Phillips, who eventually pled guilty to the murder of a police officer during his flight.

[edit] Residents' dissatisfaction

Some residents of western New York were initially annoyed and angered at the search for Phillips in April 2006 by Erie County Sheriff's office. There were reports that helicopters were searching wooded areas and with the Sheriff's office informing residents what they were investigating. Calls to the sheriff were met with responses that included "we can't disclose that information." From the start of the search people who lived in Chautauqua County had their lives disrupted. Helicopters would fly low over households at 2 and 3 a.m., spook livestock and wake residents. Small children were afraid to go outside, fearing the noise of the helicopters.^[1]

Police competency was questionable to local residents.^[2] There would be a sighting, and then Phillips would get away. This pattern was repeated for weeks and then months. Locals referred to cops as "keystones" and seemed to favor the idea of Phillip's being on the loose, due to his ability to escape capture, despite being seen in the area, and the hundreds of troopers brought into Chautauqua County.^[3] No figures have been officially released, but some reports state that New York State spent eight million dollars on the manhunt from April until August of 2006. Many locals resented the police presence.^[4] New York State Police were also criticized for not involving local law enforcement agencies in the search.^[5]

On June 15, 2006, the story of Ralph "Bucky" Phillips broke nationally. The New York Times covered the manhunt and the situation for the local residents, with an attempt at telling both sides of the story.^[6] After the shootings of August 31, some national news media expressed disbelief that residents weren't pleased with the search for the fugitive, even referring to them as "hicks" and "woodchucks" on Fox News Channel. News organizations tried to explain why Phillips repeatedly avoided capture.^[7] No news organization has explained how someone who has been incarcerated for the past 20 out of 23 years could have such excellent survival skills, though Phillips could have learned these skills in his youth.

Police were said to have conducted illegal searches of the homes of Phillips' family members. They were searching property of residents unrelated to Phillips without warrants or informing owners. Residents reported their wire horse fencing had been cut by police on ATV’s, endangering their animals. Police agencies did not include local police or Chautauqua County sheriff officers in the hunt. Residents were both inconvenienced, were angry at the heavily police presence due to the proximity of an escaped convict, and some were even fearful of the police due to the shooting of Brad Horton.^[8]

Several family members -- Patrina Wright, 23, Phillip's daughter, Kasey Crowe, 42, Wright's mother, and Norma Gloss, 65, Crowe's mother -- were watched, followed and allegedly harassed by police. Tracie Gloss, daughter-in-law to Norma Gloss, was arrested for allegedly helping Phillips, though the charges were later dropped. Family members started carrying video cameras so they could document the police harassment they claimed they were experiencing. Several family members pressed charges against the police, including Gloss, for a shoulder injury that resulted from being slammed against a wall by police and Wright, for being kicked in the stomach while she was eight months pregnant.^[9]

The alleged harassment of family members went on during the course of the search. New York State Troopers supposedly interrogated Wright's five year-old son at Wheelock Primary School without Wright’s knowledge or permission. Using this testimony and the testimony of an unidentified 10 year-old boy, troopers arrested Wright, Crowe and Richard Catanese, Wright’s boyfriend, on charges of endangering the welfare of a child. Wright's three children, including a three week-old nursing infant were put into protective custody and Wright was not allowed to see them for four days. Her children were returned a week later. It is believed that the shooting of troopers Baker and Longobardo were the result of Phillip’s anger about his grandchildren being taken away from his daughter.^[10]

After Phillips was captured community leaders and citizens expressed their gratitude for the persistent efforts of the New York State Troopers in tracking down the fugitive.^[11] From conflicting reports on the mindset of different segments of the western New York community it is apparent that some citizens felt threatened by the large police presence in the rural part of the state while others were worried about their safety in the proximity of an escaped convict.

Following the investigation to the hunt for Phillips, New York State Troopers PBA President Daniel De Federicis released a letter to Governor George Pataki and other state officials detailing problems during the search. The thrust of the letter is that state troopers were given inadequate equipment and weapons for the search, State Police commanders engaged in turf battles over personnel from various parts of the state, and asserts the FBI pulled out of the search allegedly after State Police commanders made it known other agencies were not welcome in the search.^[12]

[edit] Shooting of Brad Horton

On June 26, 2006, police were looking for Phillips in the town of Sheridan in Chautauqua County, due to vehicles believed to be stolen by Phillips showing up there. A trooper, whose name was not released, stopped Bradley Horton, 25, on his ATV. From this point on in the story, the police and the local resident's stories differ.^[13]

The police claim that Horton sped away, dragging the officer. Friends of Horton claim that no one was dragged. The New York State Trooper shot Brad Horton. Friends of Horton claim they were kept from the area and were not allowed to find him to get medical assistance to him. Horton called his wife and 911 as he lay dying in the field. His family was also unable to search for him. Eventually, Chautauqua County Sheriff officers were let onto the scene and located Horton. He was flown by helicopter to Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania. Horton died that evening.

The medical examiner's report showed five gunshot wounds to the back, with no upward angle present in the entry wounds. This evidence contradicts the trooper's account of shooting Horton while being dragged by the ATV. How the trooper was dragged has not ever been explained.

Initially, the media reported this shooting as a separate incident, unrelated to the search for Phillips. However, many residents reported hearing the trooper on their police scanners say "I got him. I shot Bucky. Or I at least shot the guy who was with him." Others reported hearing troopers say that "they had 'the suspect,' and someone should notify Erie County."^[14]

Horton's family and local residents can't explain how someone who was being dragged and lay injured a mile down the road could simultaneously send a message on his radio. Police recordings of that evening's communication have disappeared. The trooper was allowed to return to work that evening since his injuries weren't serious. The trooper's name has not been released.^[15]

Angered residents pressured the Chautauqua County District Attorney to investigate the incident and seek justice for the family of Brad Horton. The shooting was investigated by the New York State Police bureau of criminal investigation and the Chautauqua County District Attorney's office.^[16] Following the investigation, on September 29, 2006 a grand jury in Chautauqua County decided not to indict Trooper Pierce in the shooting.^[17]