A jail deputy in Monroe County faces charges after he allegedly enabled an inmate at the county jail to assault another prisoner, and failed to intervene.
That’s according to details released Friday by Sheriff Todd Baxter about Deputy Dominic Kujawa, 20, who has been indicted on Assault in the 2nd Degree, which is a felony, and Official Misconduct, which is a misdemeanor charge.
Baxter said another inmate alerted a Major at the jail about the alleged incident, which led to the investigation.
At a Friday news conference, Baxter said he wants to make sure officials can determine just how long this situation has been going on.
“So, I asked my staff to go back and look for five years, look at all fight calls, evaluate each fight call, make sure there's no systemic issues.,” said Baxter. “But I don't believe that's occurring, based on the preliminary reports I have for my staff. This is more recent activity.”
The Sheriff’s office is moving toward firing Kujawa in according with NY Civil Service law and the collective bargaining agreement.
Two other jail deputies remain suspended and another has resigned. Baxter said he is angry and disappointed and said this type of behavior is not part of the department’s culture and won’t be tolerated.
“We have taken appropriate action, first by launching an internal and criminal investigation, we have taken other actions to protect incarcerated individuals, to include the superintendent convening all his command staff and reiterating our values and our culture and our expectations and the zero tolerance for such behaviors,” Baxter said.
Kujawa has been arraigned in Monroe County Court and was released as the investigation continues.
The Sheriff’s office continues to work with the New York corrections officials, the NY State Attorney General’s office and the Monroe County District Attorney’s office.
