Smoking guns smoking....

Another shocking bombshell comes out of the Albany Police Department in records obtained during the investigation of Officer Rick Hawley.  Michael Hudgins of the Albany police department was interviewed by OSP detectives Chambers and Airs on September 16, 2010.  Officer Tim Sousa of the Albany police also sat in on the interview.

The interview was in relation to the investigation of Albany police officer Rick Hawley, who was being investigated for an alleged incident that occurred in Corvallis.  Hawley allegedly touched another male at a party in an inappropriate matter.  The incident was first reported to the Corvallis Police.  It is unclear who the original reporting party was.  It appears that a rumor of some sort reached another member of the Albany police who reported it to supervisors at APD.

The purpose of this interview was to find out what information Hudgins might know about the Hawley case.  Hudgins generally supported Hawley and said that Hawley adamantly denied any wrong doing in the case and believed that he was being unfairly targeted by the prosecutor and the Albany police department.

What happens during the interview is that Hudgins goes off on a speech about corruption within the Albany Police Department.

He details the incident where Officer Anthony Rose is caught taking pictures of his penis on duty.  “An officer is on duty.  He exposes his penis in uniform. Takes a picture of it.  And he sends it to a girl while he’s on duty.”  The Albany police called Rose in and the girl comes down to APD and gives a statement.  Hudgins reiterates that it is a true story.  Rose got a one year letter of reprimand placed in his personnel file over the incident.

Hudgins makes the statement that he thinks it is the crime of official misconduct.

Hudgins tells the detectives that during the grand jury phase of the investigation into officer Hawley’s alleged crime that the grand jury asked for specific evidence from the prosecutor and the prosecutor refused to give it.  Specifically, they asked for recordings and police reports that the prosecution then refused to provide to them.

Hudgins went on to say that he believed that Albany Chief Ed Boyd wanted the Rose incident swept under the rug because another scandal would interfere with him getting additional money for the police department.  Hudgins said, “I believe the Chief of police doesn’t want this second incident getting out with an officer taking a picture of his penis, because he wants a $9 million police department.”  “He doesn’t want to have to deal with the public.” And “Albany Police can’t police themselves.”

The Chief of Police put his personal agenda for the department first, before protecting the integrity of the department.  This is a pretty damning indictment of the priorities of Albany police chief Ed Boyd.

There was, in fact, another series of incidents where an officer did more than expose himself while on duty.  That story next.