Hearing officer: Charges against suspended Binghamton police lieutenant not proven

Editor's note: A previous version of this article contained incorrect information. A federal lawsuit in which Quinones claimed he was discriminated against was dropped. A similar action is pending in state court.

An administrative hearing officer has sided with a suspended Binghamton Police Department lieutenant, concluding accusations brought by the city accusing him of giving false testimony were not supported by facts.

Alan Quinones has been locked in a legal battle with the City of Binghamton at least since 2019, when he filed a federal lawsuit claiming he was discriminated against and passed over for promotions because he is Hispanic.

That lawsuit has since been dropped with agreement of all parties, but a similar action is pending in state court, according to Quinones' attorney, Ronald Benjamin, of Binghamton.

The city obtained a stay of that action pending the outcome of the administrative proceedings, Benjamin said.

What the documents say

The hearing officer, Steven Modica of Rochester, concluded accusations brought by the city that Quinones gave false testimony during a hearing and tried to persuade another officer to lie to a superior were not supported by the facts.

"The undersigned reports and recommends that Quinones be found not guilty of charges 1 and 2," Modica wrote. "The undersigned also reports and recommends that Quinones be reinstated to his position with back pay for any period of unpaid suspension."

Read the full report below:

Quinones' accusations against the City of Binghamton

Quinones joined the Binghamton Police Department in 2008.

In 2019, after enduring what he claimed were years of ridicule and discrimination, Quinones filed a federal lawsuit against Binghamton and several city officials.

The suit alleged, among other things, that then-Assistant Police Chief John Ryan referred to Quinones as "Ricky Ricardo," that Quinones was passed over for promotion to sergeant until November 2012, and that Quinones was ridiculed by others who imitated him in a "derogatory manner" when he was speaking Spanish.

Another claim raised in the lawsuit was that the police chief met with other patrol officers to "create scenarios that would reflect adversely" on Quinones and potentially open him up to disciplinary proceedings.

The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge but reinstated by an appeals court before it was ultimately settled.

Binghamton responds with its own accusations

While Quinones' lawsuit was playing out, the City of Binghamton filed its own charges against him.

The first allegation was that in March 2021, Quinones gave "false and misleading testimony under oath" during a hearing regarding security video of a prisoner.

The charge states Quinones testified to reviewing that security video even though no video existed because another staffer had failed to set the camera to record.

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The second allegation contends during the same time frame, Quinones advised another officer to lie when questioned by a senior officer regarding the subordinate's failure to complete a required report.

A letter to the city by former Broome County District Attorney Michael Korchak even suggested Quinones' alleged actions might warrant criminal charges in addition to departmental disciplinary steps.

"A review of all documents and transcripts indicate probable cause to attribute felony criminal conduct" to Quinones as a result of his sworn testimony, Korchak wrote.

During the civil hearing, Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham testified a special prosecutor was appointed to look into the charges due to a conflict of interest with the District Attorney's Office, but that no criminal charges were ever brought against Quinones.

What the hearing officer determined

Charge 1 was related to a separate disciplinary hearing against Binghamton police Sgt. Nicholas Hardy and his alleged actions from Dec. 30, 2018 involving a prisoner who was handcuffed to a bar in a hallway and who had reportedly vomited and was in distress.

Quinones, whose duties at the time included video cameras in the jail, was asked to review videotapes of the incident.

Quinones testified at Hardy's hearing that he saw no evidence the prisoner was soiled, had vomited or that there were any other liquids around him.

He also admitted the video wasn't the best quality, and was also aware the video cameras may not have been recording the whole time but he didn't know when they might have been off.

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After reviewing evidence and hearing testimony from involved parties, Modica concluded the excerpts of Quinones' testimony "do not provide substantial and competent evidence that he committed perjury."

"The city offered no witness who addressed Quinones’s specific testimony in the Hardy case about the camera system and demonstrated that he had lied," he wrote.

Given the lack of "unambiguous evidence of perjury," the city should have offered Quinones the opportunity to clarify his testimony in the case before bringing charges, Modica said.

Charge 2 was based on text messages between Quinones and Hardy regarding Hardy's apparent failure to complete a TRaCs report — part of a computer system used to report vehicle and traffic accidents and tickets — at the request of a supervisor.

The city's complaint alleges two phrases used by Quinones in text messages —“don't sign it” (with a laughing face emoji) and “I'd say that we never had that conversation” — compel the conclusion that he advised Hardy to lie and deny that the superior had directed him to approve TRaCS reports.

Modica noted Quinones stated during his testimony he advises anyone who has disagreement or questions about any form of documentation not to sign it and to consult with a union representative first.

Hardy also testified about those text messages and said he told Quinones the supervisor never gave him a direct order to deal with the TRaCS reports, but to handle them if he had time.

The evidence presented did not demonstrate Quinones advised Hardy to lie, Modica concluded.

Where does Quinones case go from here?

The hearing officer's conclusions are nonbinding and the city can choose to accept them or not.

No decision has been made regarding Quinones' fate, according to the city's corporation counsel.

"Counsel is reviewing the report and recommendation from the hearing officer," the office of corporation counsel said in a prepared statement. "The city will follow all requirements of Civil Service Law § 75 in its next steps."

The city has 30 days to make a decision regarding the hearing officer's recommendations, but the state lawsuit will proceed even if the city agrees to reinstate Quinones with back pay, Benjamin said.

"He's entitled to money damages for stress and humiliation, and punitive damages against the (police) chief," he said.

The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court also alleges the city sought to retaliate against Quinones because he supported another race discrimination claim brought by police officer Christopher Hamlett, who is Black.

Read the full complaint here:

Benjamin believes the conclusions in Modica's report are "bulletproof" and will greatly enhance Quinones' chances in the state lawsuit.

"When we bring this in front of a jury, they will all be crying at what was done to an officer who served with distinction," Benjamin said. "The things they did to him are just outrageous."

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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Binghamton police Quinones case: Hearing officer favors reinstating