As reported in the Finger Lakes Times last week, on October 10th, then-Geneva Police Department probationary officer Ryan Ambrose attacked his former girlfriend, choking her and causing injury. He has since been fired by the GPD (on November 13th) and indicted by a grand jury on the charge of second-degree strangulation (on December 23rd).
While some might read the story and see Ambrose as one of the oft-spoken-of “bad apples” on police forces around the US, in truth it is an indictment of the Geneva Police Department.
The October 10th attack was not the first time Ambrose showed his true colors. On August 26th, when Ambrose and his then-girlfriend were living together, the Canandaigua police were called to their residence by Ambrose’s then-girlfriend’s mother who was witness to a heated argument. The Canandaigua police asked the couple to separate for the night, resulting in Ambrose leaving and no charges being filed.
So where does the GPD come in? The Canandaigua police alerted the GPD of the August 26th incident involving their probationary officer. The GPD had a duty to investigate and, depending on their findings, to take action to protect the people of Geneva from this potentially abusive officer. And yet, the GPD swept the incident under the rug. They did not properly investigate the report, neglecting to even speak with Ambrose’s then-girlfriend or her mother—the very person who had been so concerned about what she was witnessing that she called the police!
The story of Ryan Ambrose’s time as part of the GPD exposes how the department is complicit in the crimes of its officers. It seems that, to the GPD, abuse that doesn’t meet the level of criminal charges (or, in the case of Officer Jack Montesanto, even when it does) is irrelevant.
It’s time for the people of Geneva to stand up to this department that lets its cops abuse us with impunity.
Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe—even from those who have sworn to “serve and protect” us.