Does Our Police Chief Offer A Complete And Accurate Report?

At an Informal Common Council Meeting last October or November, Police Chief Ed Moore cited data regarding drunk drivers in the City of Hudson.  He claimed that 3 drivers had been found to be driving while impaired during the previous month, chalking this low number up to his department's efforts to curb drunk driving in the city (how they do this, I do not know).  The impression Moore was trying to convey, at least in my mind, was that drunk driving in the city is not a big problem, and that HPD has it under control.

What Moore failed to mention were any arrests that NY State troopers may have made during that month last year when HPD made 3 DUI arrests.  In fact, I have never once heard Ed Moore mention at a meeting any data of DUI arrests or other less serious traffic violations issued by state troopers in the City of Hudson.  It's as if the State Police are not doing anything in the city.  It turns out they are doing plenty.

I FOILed for all the traffic violations that the NY State Police issued in Hudson during the months of September and October last year.  According to the list I received, state troopers pulled over 8 drunk drivers in each of those months.  So, contrary to what our Police Chief claimed at the meeting last year, there were actually 11 DUI's, not just 3.  There were nearly 4 times as many DUI's in the City of Hudson during one month last year than what our Police Chief told us there were. 

In his report, Ed Moore, a former NY State trooper himself, did one of three things: he conveniently left out the DUI arrests in Hudson made by state troopers; he forgot to include that data; or he simply wasn't aware that state troopers pulled over nearly 3 times as many DUI drivers as his own department did.  

Let's say that there was a sudden spike in DUI arrests made by State Police in Hudson -- would Ed Moore care to know about this?  Would Ed care to let us know about such a problem if he knew of one?  The State Police certainly aren't offering that information to the Council and the public.

A partial list of traffic violations issued 
by HPD last October

According to minutes from the September 2022 Informal Council meeting, Ed Moore said this about his quarterly report of traffic violations in the city:   "The majority of tickets were issued on Harry Howard Avenue, predominantly for moving violations and speeding in zone."  This is nonsense.  HPD issues traffic violations all over the city daily -- certainly not primarily on Harry Howard.  Speeding tickets are often issued on the poorly and illegally constructed school zone there, but HPD officers are busy pulling drivers over everywhere in town, of course.  

A partial list of traffic violations issued
by state troopers in Hudson last September

It turns out that even our state troopers are busy issuing traffic tickets all over town, too, and not just on Harry Howard Avenue.  State troopers issued 57 traffic tickets in Hudson (including the DUI's) during September and October.  The locations that troopers pulled people over then reads like a map of Hudson:  Cherry Alley; East Court Street; Columbia Street; Fairview Avenue; Worth Street, Warren Street; Prospect Avenue.  What on earth is Ed Moore talking about when he says "predominantly on Harry Howard Avenue"?

It would be nice to get a clear and accurate picture from our Police Chief about what is actually happening on our streets, wouldn't it?   That is what we expect of him -- the full picture, even if it's not pretty and does not reflect well on his job performance.  This, we do not get.