{"id":4405,"date":"2006-02-27T12:29:34","date_gmt":"2006-02-27T16:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2006\/02\/27\/a-spidey-tale-in-the-schenect"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:07","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:07","slug":"a-spidey-tale-in-the-schenectady-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2006\/02\/27\/a-spidey-tale-in-the-schenectady-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"a spidey-tale in the schenectady jail"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

You may have heard on Friday that the famous Wall-Crawler will be dressed <\/font><\/p>\n

in a new black costume<\/font><\/a><\/font>, in the 2007 <\/font>Sony<\/font><\/a> film “Spider-Man 3<\/a>,<\/em>” instead of his <\/font><\/p>\n

old, nerdy red and blue suit. Here in Schenectady, NY, we had a Spidey of <\/font><\/p>\n

our own this week, but he was dressed in bright prisoner orange. [articles <\/font><\/p>\n

and local comment collected <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>]<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Schenectady County jail is right next door to our main County Office Building <\/font><\/p>\n

and courts, at the edge of our downtown district, and a little over a mile from my <\/font><\/p>\n

home. Operated by the <\/font>Schenectady [NY] County Sheriff’s Department<\/font><\/a> (SCSD), <\/font><\/p>\n

and <\/font>Sheriff Harry <\/font><\/a>Buffardi<\/font><\/a>, the jail had its first escape since 1987. <\/font>The story would <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

be rather entertaining, if it didn’t suggest quite a bit of ineptitude in an agency that <\/font><\/p>\n

is important for public safety. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"OrtizGaz\" Edwin Ortiz<\/em><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

photo: P.R.Barber\/Gazette<\/font><\/a><\/em><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The star of the show is 41-year-old Edwin Ortiz, who has been out of prison only <\/font><\/p>\n

about half a year out of the last 20. When released in March 2005 from a Penn-<\/font><\/p>\n

sylvania prison, he and his girlfriend (Rhonda L. Nickell-Spearman) went on an armed<\/font><\/p>\n

robbery spree that ended <\/font>last October in Schenectady, after a dangerous, high-speed <\/font><\/p>\n

vehicular chase<\/font><\/a>. At that <\/font><\/font>time, he allegedly threatened to kill the arresting officer, saying <\/font><\/p>\n

he would not be taken <\/font>alive. His jailors soon learned that Ortiz had escaped from a <\/font><\/p>\n

Pittsburgh juvenile deten<\/font>sion center in 1982, using a knife to threaten his “house mother.” <\/font><\/p>\n

After his arrest, <\/font>Ortiz admitted to gun-point robberies in Herkimer County, Syracuse, <\/font><\/p>\n

Philadelphia, New <\/font>York City, Erie, Pa., and Bergen, N.J. (Newsday<\/em>\/<\/font>AP<\/font><\/a>, Feb. 22, 2006)<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\"tiny <\/font>Sheriff Buffardi<\/font><\/a> has had a distinguished career in SCSD, <\/font><\/p>\n

rising from jail guard to Sheriff, and has written a well-regard-<\/font><\/p>\n

ed <\/font>History of the Office of Sheriff<\/font><\/a>. Given Ortiz’s history, Buffardi <\/font><\/p>\n

assured the public this week that “we had him on extraordinary <\/font><\/p>\n

watch.”<\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"jailNeg\"<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tuesday night, however, it was Ortiz who acted extraordinarily. From news stories, <\/font><\/p>\n

including interviews with Ortiz after his capture, here’s a quick summary of the <\/font><\/p>\n

tale [see “Inmate Escapes from County Jail: authorities consider man dangerous,” <\/font><\/p>\n

Schenectady [NY] Gazettte<\/u><\/em>, by Kathleen Moore, Feb. 22, 2006, $ub. only, but, repro-<\/font><\/p>\n

duced <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>; “Jailbreak details provided;” Gazettte<\/u><\/em>, by Steven Cook, Feb. 23, 2006, <\/font>re-<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

produced <\/font>her<\/font><\/a>e<\/a><\/font>, at Reply 8); “Ortiz talks; Buffardi stews,” Gazettte<\/u><\/em>, by <\/font><\/font>Steven Cook, <\/font><\/p>\n

Feb. 24, 2006,r eproduced <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>, at Reply 12); “<\/font>No plan doomed fugitive<\/font><\/a>: Edwin Ortiz <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

details desperate attempt to flee . .,” by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, Albany [NY] <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Times Union<\/em>, Feb. 24, 2006; CapitalNews9<\/em><\/font><\/a>, “Inmate who escaped now in police cus-<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

tody,” Feb. 23, 2006]: <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\"jailFence\" The recreation area of the Schenectady County Jail , which is <\/font><\/p>\n

located on the roof of the jail’s kitchen — surrounded on <\/font>three sides by building <\/font><\/p>\n

walls and on the fourth side by a fence; it is also enclosed <\/font>on the top by fencing <\/font><\/p>\n

that is 35′ above the ground. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About a month ago, Ortiz “noticed a flaw in a chain-link fence obscured from <\/font><\/p>\n

the lone guard by a steel beam. An assiduous runner, Ortiz said he kicked the <\/font><\/p>\n

fence as he jogged past everyday, jolting it free from a broken hook.” [TU<\/font><\/a><\/em>] He <\/font><\/p>\n

also began a vigorous exercise routine (running in place in his cell and deep-<\/font><\/p>\n

knee bends, accourding to Buffardi) and a weight-loss program.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Ortiz later told the TU<\/em><\/font><\/a> that he plotted to exploit a weakness in the <\/font><\/p>\n

jail’s rooftop exercise yard, convincing himself that even plummeting to <\/font><\/p>\n

his death in the attempt would be better than never seeing freedom again.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sheriff Buffardi<\/em><\/font> \"BuffardiH\"<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to <\/font>CapitalNews9<\/em><\/font><\/a>, Sheriff Buffardi “said he knew the fence <\/font><\/p>\n

was loose in the rec yard but he never imagined an inmate could get <\/font><\/p>\n

out.” However, Buffardi told the Gazette that “the rec fence was com-<\/font><\/p>\n

promised and that went undiscovered.” The Sheriff assures County <\/font><\/p>\n

residents that fences will now be checked regularly.<\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At 5:08 PM, on Feb. 21, 2006, Ortiz and a group of prisoners were escorted to the <\/font><\/p>\n

jail’s recreation area. Ortiz recalled to the TU<\/em> reporter:<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

As dusk approached Tuesday “I paced the yard for a couple of minutes to <\/font><\/p>\n

hype myself up for the jump,” Ortiz said, knowing what was ahead. Then <\/font><\/p>\n

he slipped his fit, 5-10 frame through the hole and scaled the cage unseen <\/font><\/p>\n

by anyone except fellow inmates, authorities said. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"OrtizTU\" Edwin Ortiz<\/font><\/p>\n

by Lori Van Buren\/<\/font>Times Union<\/font><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Standing on top, 35 feet <\/font>above the pavement, Ortiz said he briefly contem-<\/font><\/p>\n

plated the 10-to-12-foot gap that separated him from the roof of an old <\/font><\/p>\n

dormitory. <\/font>He stepped back a few feet and made a running leap, crashing <\/font><\/p>\n

onto the adjacent <\/font>roof and spraining his ankle. He then had to scramble<\/font><\/p>\n

to different levels of that roof to reach its lowest point, where his grip slipped <\/font><\/p>\n

and he fell 12′ straight to the ground, again hurting his ankle — <\/font>an injury that <\/font><\/p>\n

would <\/font>hobble <\/font>him during his tour of the “<\/font>Electric City.” <\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like the “real” comics-movie Spiderman, who often acts without a plan (or enough <\/font><\/p>\n

spidey-web), Ortiz found himself “A fugitive in a strange city, injured and searching for <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

railroad tracks so he could hop the first train ‘anywhere out of Schenectady’.” Also, <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

like Spidey, he shrugged out of his work clothes and was running around in under-<\/font><\/p>\n

wear (wearing a sweat shirt, long johns and boxer shorts). Oritz says he had no <\/font><\/p>\n

inside or outside help, and merely found (in a bag on State Street, our main down-<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

town thoroughfare)<\/font> the jeans, jacket <\/font>and other clothes he was wearing when <\/font>captured.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Sheriff Buffardi is quoted saying: “We did not anticipate that he could make <\/font><\/p>\n

this miraculous spider-man-like jump from the top of the recreation area to <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Buffardi told the Gazette<\/em>: “I can understand his reluctance to divulge the <\/font><\/p>\n

people who were helpful to him.”<\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"handcuffsG\"<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ortiz hobbled off, after his escape, believing that he probably had a 15-minute head <\/font><\/p>\n

start. However, he didn’t realize that he was dealing with SCSD. Here’s what was <\/font><\/p>\n

going on inside the jail:<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

– 6:12 p.m<\/strong>: the other inmates were escorted back to their cell blocks from <\/font><\/p>\n

the <\/font>rec yard and an officer recorded Ortiz to be back on the floor <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– that same officer, who was required to make his count by visual<\/font><\/p>\n

inspection of each inmate, recorded Ortiz (who was, after all, “on<\/font><\/p>\n

extraordinary watch”) as present in the cell block 5<\/strong> additional times <\/font><\/p>\n

in the next hour<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– 7:15 p.m<\/strong>: according to the officer’s log, he finally realized that he was <\/font><\/p>\n

one man short. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\"escapeCount\"<\/font><\/p>\n

“Forty-two, forty-fwee plus one missing, <\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

that makes forty-four!”<\/em> [Gazette,<\/em> Feb. 26, 2006<\/font><\/p>\n

orig.<\/a> at 14]<\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

– 7:38 p.m. <\/strong>: said officer gets around to notifying his supervisor of the <\/font><\/p>\n

problem<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

“tinyredcheck” Because Ortiz had supposedly come in from the rec yard, and<\/font><\/p>\n

no one could conceive of an escape off that roof, almost three <\/font><\/p>\n

hours were spent looking inside the jail for Ortiz. “We took apart <\/font><\/p>\n

every wiring conduit. We had to get keys to locks we haven’t <\/font><\/p>\n

opened in years,” Buffardi said. . . . “Then we found the breach <\/font><\/p>\n

in the recreation yard fence,” and realized they had an escape.<\/font><\/p>\n

(Gazette<\/em>, Feb. 22, 2006, B1)<\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

– 9 p.m.<\/strong>: neighboring police departments alerted; <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– 10:15 p.m.<\/strong>: general alarm sounded of the escape <\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Ortiz9\"<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although Schenectadians went to bed Tuesday night, and awoke Wednesday<\/font><\/p>\n

morning, knowing that a dangerous <\/font>felon was at large, the Schenectady Gazette<\/em> <\/font><\/p>\n

went to bed with an edition that <\/font>told of the danger in a lengthy story, but did not <\/font><\/p>\n

bother to run a picture of Edwin <\/font>Ortiz. TV stations <\/font>did run photos on their local <\/font><\/p>\n

news <\/font>shows on Tuesday night. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The residents of Schenectady County were lucky. Ortiz had escaped into a city <\/font><\/p>\n

he did not know, where he had no personal contacts; he was also very cold and <\/font><\/p>\n

confused. (When he found the apartment of a girlfriend of one of his prison-mates, <\/font><\/p>\n

she <\/font>slammed the door in his face and told him where he could find some Puerto <\/font><\/p>\n

Ricans) Nineteen hours after his escape, Ortiz was captured, only ten blocks from <\/font><\/p>\n

the jail, and without injuries to the arresting officers. He apparently committed no <\/font><\/p>\n

crimes while loose. [You can see a video<\/font><\/a> interview<\/font> in which Ortiz says the brief <\/font><\/p>\n

escape was worth it. <\/font>WNYT13<\/font><\/a>, Feb. 23, 2006]<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luckily, Ortiz had no guns or other weapons. He told the Times Union<\/em> reporter:<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

“I wish I would have had a gun yesterday. Just to shoot it out … to get <\/font><\/p>\n

lucky and not have to face it anymore. . . . Guys who are facing the rest <\/font><\/p>\n

of their lives in jail, I don’t know what holds them back.”<\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"jailNeg\"<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The TU<\/em> reporter got it right:<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

In addition to a cinematic jailbreak story, Ortiz’ 19-hour vanishing <\/font><\/p>\n

act has left serious questions about security at the downtown jail. <\/font><\/p>\n

Chief among them is how a veteran guard counted Ortiz as being <\/font><\/p>\n

in his cell block six times in the hour after he’s now believed to <\/font><\/p>\n

have escaped. <\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At this point, both an internal investigation and one by the state Commission of <\/font><\/p>\n

Correction are continuing. Sheriff Buffardi says that any disciplinary action against <\/font><\/p>\n

the [so far unnamed] guard, who repeatedly miscounted the inmates, and others, <\/font><\/p>\n

would stem from those investigations. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

update<\/strong><\/font><\/em> (March 3, 2006): See quick, count to six<\/font><\/a>,<\/font> to learn that deputies Gerald <\/font><\/p>\n

Treacy and <\/font>Jayme Paul were fired for their negligent counting, and more. Per the <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Gazette<\/font><\/a> (“Sheriff fires 2 after jail escape<\/em>,” by Steve Cook, March 2, 2006, repro-<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

duced here<\/font><\/strong><\/a>, reply 15):<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font>“There were supposed to be six inmates on Ortiz’s<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font>tier, [Sheriff Harry] Buffardi emphasized. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font>” ‘I don’t think it’s a difficult or tremendous burden <\/em><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font>for us to require a count to six people,<\/em>‘ Buffardi said.”<\/font><\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"jailbird <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prison fence:
\nthe razor wire glints
\nwith first light<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

George Swede<\/strong><\/font><\/a> –<\/font><\/font>Simply Haiku<\/em><\/font><\/a> (Sept. 2003, I:3)<\/font> <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\nrestored prairie . . .
\nwhere the grasses end
\nthe prison’s outer fence<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

postal chess —<\/font>
\nhe moves me <\/font>
\nfrom his cell<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"rook <\/font><\/p>\n

winter sun begins
\nto warm the steering wheel
\nprison visit day<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

another Christmas . . .
\nmy parents visit
\nthe son in prison<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

lee gurga<\/font><\/a> from <\/font>Fresh Scent<\/font><\/em><\/a> (1998) <\/font><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/font> \"SpiderManBlackF\"<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may have heard on Friday that the famous Wall-Crawler will be dressed in a new black costume, in the 2007 Sony film “Spider-Man 3,” instead of his old, nerdy red and blue suit. Here in Schenectady, NY, we had a Spidey of our own this week, but he was dressed in bright prisoner orange. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2926,2927],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006","category-schenectady-synecdoche"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-193","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12758,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4405\/revisions\/12758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

the top of another building 12 feet away.” (CapitalNews9<\/font><\/a><\/em>, Feb. 22, 2006)<\/font><\/p>\n