SUNY Oneonta training recruits for Schoharie Sheriff

ONEONTA, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — When an ambulance was stolen from Schoharie County recently, another man whose car was almost stolen during that incident said his calls went unanswered citing a shortage of law enforcement officers. To improve the situation, the County’s undersheriff says the department has a mandate to increase its deputy staff by 37%.  SUNY Oneonta’s police academy is helping them fill that void.

“Our county legislation back in February, with the whole situation that occurred in the village of Cobleskill and their police department, has agreed to expand our recruiting, which is very unusual in this period for a government to say let’s make a police department bigger, ” Schoharie Undersheriff Bruce Baker explained.

The situation in Cobleskill? The majority of their police officers resigned leaving a local patrol shortage. SUNY Oneonta’s police chief says their program is needed to alleviate the shrinking candidate pool upstate.

“…Downstate, Long Island New York City Hudson Valley. We’re trying to get those students that come to us from those areas to stay upstate and become part of the Upstate economy including becoming police officers and deputy sheriffs,” said Chief Dirk Budd.

21-year-old Robert Gronenthal, a former firefighter is one of those recruits.

“I like the way that they operate in Schoharie. It’s just appealing to me,” said Gronenthal. “It’s a great environment I’ve come from public safety. Most of my family is public safety,” he continued.

Robert and other trainees spent the afternoon photographing a mock crime scene. In smaller departments like Schoharie, deputies wear many hats including crime scene investigators.

Gronenthal is used to being patrolled by large well-staffed public safety departments. “It was a little bit of a culture shock I won’t lie. I used to work as an EMT on Long Island. Our response time was two minutes for a hospital” he explained.

The Schoharie County Sheriff’s Department has 18 deputies, aiming for 30 deputies by 2026. The department also wants to expand to 24/7 patrols.

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