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Niagara County officer admits to assault during concert at Darien Lake

By Howard B. Owens

A Niagara County police officer who was involved in an altercation at Darien Lake in 2012 admitted in county court today that her reckless conduct while intoxicated caused injuries to another concert goer.

Kelly L. Alcorn, 48, entered a guilty plea to third-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor, with no condition on sentencing.

The Grand Island resident was originally arrested Aug. 25 and charged with harassment, 2nd, but after the victim in the case went to the media claiming serious injuries and drawing attention to Alcorn's law enforcement status, the District Attorney's Office took a closer look at the case.

In February, Alcorn was indicted on a single count of assault, 2nd.

As part of her plea today, Judge Robert C. Noonan asked Alcorn a series of questions, starting with whether she was at the concert and whether she was intoxicated, which Alcorn admitted.

When Noonan asked Alcorn if her body came into contact with the body of the victim, causing her to hit a cinder block wall, Alcorn conferred with her attorney.

Alcorn admitted to wrestling with the victim on the floor and hitting her and that those swings recklessly caused injury to the victim.

Section 120(7) of the NYS penal code defines one type of third-degree assault as recklessly causing injury to another person.

At time of sentencing, Alcorn will be seeking a relief from civil disabilities, which is a form Noonan can sign that would enable Alcorn to continue her law enforcement career, or take other government employment, or seek employment in certain state-licensed fields.

Sentencing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Jan. 9.

Peggy Dominiak

I agree, she should lose all rights to her law enforcement career or any government job. She isn't any different than anyone else, assault is assault, no matter how you look at it. Just because she is a law enforcement officer shouldn't give her special privileges. If you commit a crime, you have to pay the price, just like everyone else.

Oct 17, 2013, 8:41am Permalink
david spaulding

come on now...you never get drunk and get into a fight?...what the two of you are saying is everyone who drinks too much and gets into an altercation should lose their job.....seems a little harsh to me......like you said she's no different than anybody else...
the new law of darien, if convicted for fighting while drunk, you are fired from your job........we can call it " peggy's law"

Oct 17, 2013, 9:49am Permalink
Mark Brudz

Those who are sworn to 'Protect & Serve' necessarily should be held to a higher standard. Integrity and character are a must for those that we entrust with enforcing our laws otherwise the creditability of those will always come into question when duly exercising their duties in similar cases.

Should a person get fired for getting drunk and getting into an altercation? Normally no, but there is a prevailing factor. A law Enforcement officer's oath does not end when their shift is over, they are police officers 24/7, they do not swear to uphold the law only during their assigned shift. The oath has to be binding or it is meaningless.

This should apply to drunken brawls, drunken driving, stealing and anything else that they are sworn to uphold. If she were to have plead guilty to a felony assault and certain misdemeanors drunk or otherwise before she became a peace officer, she wouldn't have been allowed to become one in the first place, so committing the act afterwards is just as applicable. There has to be consequence for actions that harm others again, drunk or sober.

For an officer's word to carry weight in court, their actions in life should be beyond reproach.

Oct 17, 2013, 10:07am Permalink
david spaulding

I can't believe i'm posting to defend a PO......
mark, I haven't read the officers sworn oath , but if it says I won't get drunk and I won't get into fights, then I guess she should be fired....
PO's are trained to believe they are superior to civilians.....live that way for awhile and you start to believe it.....mix this with alcohol and you have a problem....
bottom line is this lady is human, she drank too much and got into a fight, could happen to anyone who drinks alcohol......
i don't think she should lose her job because of it....

Oct 17, 2013, 5:42pm Permalink
Mark Brudz

Dave

1. Civilian or Peace Officer, being drunk is NOT an excuse to injure a person under any circumstances. There has to be consequences for that action.

2. A Police Officer MUST maintain a higher standard by virtue of their position. They are SWORN to protect SWORN to uphold the law. Period no wiggle room.

3 You said "PO's are trained to believe they are superior to civilians.....live that way for awhile and you start to believe it.....mix this with alcohol and you have a problem...." First of all, police officers are NOT trained to think that they are superior, they are trained to take charge of a situation and PREVENT situations from escalating into situations that may cause harm or loss of property. Being drunk and beating a woman and causing physical harm is wrong, period, civilian or law enforcement, it is NOT OK, it IS a big deal. The very thing that you say, "PO's are trained to believe they are superior to civilians" while TOTALLY WRONG, is the attitude that becomes prevalent when Police Officers are NOT held to a higher standard.

This woman not only committed a crime, she shamed her fellow officers everywhere.. I strongly suggest you go back and read the articles about this case.

MS Dake the injured person

<strong>"Dake said she was on her way to the bathroom near the end of a concert when Alcorn grabbed her by the hair, pulled her arms behind her back, slammed her head into a cement wall and punched her in the head, neck, arm and back. Dake said she was on her back in a ball with her knees up and continued to be attacked, being punched and slammed into the cement wall. She wrote that it did not stop until the attack moved closer to where her husband, a state trooper, was located, and he was able to run in and yell for Alcorn to get off his wife."</strong>

This is not what any person SWORN to Uphold Law can call a simple disagreement.

Do you really want someone that would do that at a concert after a few drinks carrying a gun and a badge?

,

Oct 17, 2013, 8:02pm Permalink
John Simmons

I think she needs to spend some time in jail & NOT the section reserved for cops either, general population is fine & then after she is "rehabilitated",(Did I spell that right?) Fire her butt & make sure she never works in a government type job again. Let alone be a cop.. Lately everyone that says something derogatory online or on the air has been fired from their job, so why not a cop that beats people up & blames it on excessive alcohol use as an excuse??

Oct 18, 2013, 7:36am Permalink
Raymond Richardson

No David, what CJ and Peggy are saying is law enforcement officers are supposed to set the example of obeying the laws, since they are not only entrusted to, but also sworn to enforce those laws. As such, if a cop breaks the law, they've broken that trust of the public and as such should be relieved of their duties.

This "cop" caused serious physical injury to another person while in an drunken state, and should lose her job as a result. If she hadn't stopped when she did, and killed this person, she would have been facing 2nd degree murder charges. Are you saying if she were convicted of murder she should keep her job?

Really?

Oct 18, 2013, 8:56am Permalink

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