Veteran deputy arrested on felony eavesdropping charge in Ontario County

A 20-year veteran of the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office’s Corrections Division is suspended without pay after he was arrested Tuesday on a felony eavesdropping charge.

Deputy Adam Broadwell, 44, was allegedly using an electronic hearing device - an earbud designed to cut out background noise and enhance other sound where directed - to listen in on conversations while he was on duty and stationed at the Ontario County Courthouse, Sheriff David Cirencione said Wednesday.

Cirencione said Broadwell was not part of the conversations and the people involved had no knowledge nor did they gave permission for him to listen. Cirencione said he was unable to provide specific details such as the location in the building, what was heard or if any court cases were affected, adding the allegations will have to play out in the court process.

Broadwell was charged with eavesdropping, which is a class E felony, and class A misdemeanor charges of possession of an eavesdropping device and official misconduct. He is to appear in Canandaigua City Court at a later date.

Law enforcement officers are held to the highest standards and sworn to serve and protect the people of the community, Cirencione said.

"We need to operate at the top of the ethical and moral compass," Cirencione said. "When there’s an issue that falls below that, it’s on us not only to address it, but to be transparent and let the people of the community we protect know that it happened."

Ontario County District Attorney Jim Ritts said an eavesdropping case is not routine, but added there is an expectation of privacy in the courthouse because of the sensitivity involved in some court matters.

"In the conversations we have on a day-to-day basis, we expect to be able to have frank conversations and not have to worry about somebody listening in that’s not part of it," Ritts said.

The Sheriff’s Office learned of the behavior in January, although it allegedly happened in 2022, Cirencione said.

Broadwell was reassigned from the courthouse to the Ontario County Jail during the investigation, Cirencione said.

Cirencione said he has no reason to believe that this was anything other than an isolated incident.

"It was reported, investigated very promptly and very aggressively and the actions we took were swift," Cirencione said.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Adam Broadwell arrested on eavesdropping charge in Ontario County NY