The Erie County Sheriff's Office, along with the Erie County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday the arrest of a pair of deputies.
It was Tuesday evening around 6:20 p.m. EST when deputies arrested correctional officer Jason Stachowski after an investigation of prison contraband. While deputies attempted to take Stachowski into custody, the 48-year-old got confrontational and resisted arrest. According to the Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, this forced the deputies trying to arrest Stachowski to use a taser to get him to calm down.
Sheriffs were finally able to take Stachowski into custody, and was transported to the Niagara County Jail. He was then arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Alden at the Alden Town Court. At his arraignment, Stachowski was charged with:
- One count of Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree (Class "D" felony)
- One count of Resisting Arrest (Class "A" misdemeanor)
- One count of Obstruction of Governmental Administration in the Second Degree (Class "A" misdemeanor)
- One count of Disorderly Conduct (violation)
The alleged incident took place in late-December of 2021, where the Erie County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous tip of an inmate at the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden who was in possession of a cell phone and a phone charger.
Stachowski is accused of knowingly and unlawfully bringing dangerous contraband into the jail by providing the inmate the cell phone.
"This is a serious incident," said Erie County Sheriff John Garcia at his press briefing alongside the Erie County District Attorney on Wednesday. "Bringing contraband into the facility not only puts the corrections officers' lives in danger, but that of the incarcerated individuals."
According to the Sheriff's Office, there was also a small amount of marijuana that was discovered with the inmate, but that matter is still under investigation.
There is a chance Stachowski may have further charges coming his way, including the potential for a misconduct charge.
Stachowski was released on his own recognizance as the charges against him do not qualify for bail. He is set to return to court on Feb. 1, where if convicted of all his charges, he faces a maximum of seven years in prison.
The second Sheriff's deputy arrested Tuesday night was 40-year-old Robert Dee. He was arraigned in Eden Town Court on Wednesday, where he faces one count of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree (Class "A" misdemeanor).
According to Flynn, Dee had a pending arrest back on Dec. 9 over an alleged domestic violence incident. After an order of protection was issued against him, he allegedly violated that protective order on Tuesday when he picked the victim up at a bar and took her back to his house in Eden. He was caught with her that evening after a dispute took place in the house and a 9-1-1 call was made.
The District Attorney said Dee was given a bail of $25,000, and he's set to return to court on Jan. 11.
Dee is a jail deputy working at the Erie County Holding Center.
"It's a very unfortunate day today," Sheriff Garcia said. "I was looking at that shield, that 'duty, honor, service', and unfortunately neither the jail deputy (Dee) at the Erie County Holding Center nor the corrections officer (Stachowski) at the Alden Correctional Facility followed in their oath of office."
Both deputies will get their due process and the Erie County Sheriff's Office will abide by the collective bargaining agreement. In the meantime, both deputies are also suspended without pay.
"In my 28 years in the Navy as a JAG officer, I had to prosecute a lot of service members, and the service members that I had to discipline and prosecute were not a reflection of the million-plus service members who serve honorably in this nation and overseas," Flynn said. "It's the same thing with law enforcement. There are millions of honorable law enforcement officers; 99.999% of every law enforcement officer in this country, in Buffalo, in Erie County, in New York State is honorable and does the right thing. But when that .001% does something wrong and crosses the line, then we have a job to do, and we have to hold them accountable like everyone else."
In Stachowski's instance, this is not the first time he has been suspended while on duty as a correctional officer.
Back in August of 2020, Stachowski was suspended for seven days after he was video taped threatening protestors in South Buffalo with a baseball bat.
According to Erie County Sheriff John Garcia, Stachowski was also suspended just last month for a separate incident where he failed to follow his command orders while on duty.
"These are not the people that represent the Erie County Sheriff's Office, nor do I want people like Mr. Stachowski representing the Erie County Sheriff's Office in the future," Garcia said.
You can listen to the entire briefing of the arrests made by the Erie County Sheriff's Office below:
