A jury of six men and six women acquitted a Mid-state corrections officer accused of using excessive force on an inmate back in January 2010 on two counts against him, but was hung on the third.
Michael A. Wehby, 51, of 171 Bouck Road, Frankfort, Herkimer County, was found not guilty on counts of second-degree assault and attempted second-degree assault, both felonies, Monday. However, during the deliberations, the County Court jury could not come to a unanimous decision on a count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Wehby is scheduled to return to court July 9 to determine how the third charge will be handled, officials said. Wehby, who also worked part-time as a Frankfort police officer, is suspended without pay from both his state and town positions.
If convicted, the 24-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office and Frankfort Police, faced seven years in state prison.
The first witnesses in Wehby’s trial before Judge Michael L. Dwyer took the stand last Tuesday. According to the prosecution, Wehby was mocking 45-year-old inmate Jose Rivera in the mess hall at Mid-State on Jan. 15, 2010, because Rivera has to wear a protective helmet to keep him safe when he suffers a seizure. Assistant District Attorney Kurt Hameline said Rivera told Wehby to stop, and continued to talk back when Wehby started pulling Rivera out of the cafeteria line.
Hameline said Wehby then took Rivera out of the mess hall into a nearby alcove and started beating him.
Defense Attorney Michael E. Daley’s argument was that the state Inspector General’s Office should be held accountable for the incident, not Wehby. Daley described Rivera as "violent outside of prison, which caused him to go to prison repeatedly," and Rivera "is a violent individual inside of prison," with many disciplinary actions taken against him for causing trouble." Daley also said the Inspector General’s Office did a poor job in investigating the incident, because they failed to talk to all the witnesses and did not account for the injuries that Wehby and the other officers involved suffered.
