Police chief responds to News10NBC investigation into officer continuing to receive pay after two-year suspension

ROCHESTER, NY — Rochester’s police chief answered questions Friday about why he is still paying a detective who has been suspended for nearly two years. Rochester City Council members saw News10NBC’s report on the situation Thursday night and used a budget hearing with the police chief on Friday to question him about it.

RPD Detective Charles LoTempio was suspended in July 2022 after a News10NBC report showed surveillance video showing him shoving an EMT against a desk in the emergency room at Strong Memorial Hospital and handcuffing her.

The paramedic bumped into LoTempio’s car door while unloading a patient in the ambulance area. He asked for her identification, but she continued walking with her patient. LoTempio followed her into the house and took her into custody.

Public records show that LoTempio received a salary of $113,392 in 2023 despite not working a single day.

Under civil service law, a police officer has the right to a Section 75 hearing before being fired or facing more severe disciplinary action. Apparently, it took more than a year to find an arbitrator who would take on the case. News10NBC has learned that while the hearing in this case has finally taken place, the city of Rochester and the Locust Club are still waiting for the arbitrator’s recommendations.

Paramedic Lekia Smith has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Rochester. Her attorney told News10NBC that the lawsuit and a workers’ compensation request have been postponed pending the outcome of a Section 75 hearing.

At a budget hearing on Friday, Police Chief David Smith was questioned about the situation.

Stanley Martin (Rochester City Council Member) – “There’s a report out about an officer who was suspended on pay for two years. I’m trying to find out how often this happens and how long it generally lasts. Could you please provide data – I understand this must be confidential – on the officers who have been suspended on pay over the past five years, the length of their suspension and the administration’s reasons for doing so?”

David Smith (Chief of the Rochester Police Department) – “We can certainly provide that. I can tell you off the top of my head that I only have one member right now who is suspended with pay. Generally, of course, it’s my decision whether there’s a suspension, and the way I look at it is, if the allegations could potentially lead to termination or if it would be a potential danger to the community if I left that person out there, then the suspension goes into effect. In New York State, an officer can only be suspended without pay for 30 days unless you can have that hearing within 30 days. So there’s really no way to suspend without pay, they’re suspended with pay until they go through the process. And once it goes through the process, they have the right to an Article 75 hearing, which again takes time. So if you look at New York City, you see on TV all the time, they’re constantly issuing suspensions, whether they’re right or not, that’s what you see. They have a designated hearing judge for the NYPD; when a supervisor files charges, it goes before that hearing judge and it’s done. We have a list of hearing officers that we have to appoint for the entire state. It takes months, sometimes a year, to get an appointment with a hearing officer. Then the hearing has to take place and then the hearing officer has to issue his decision. Those are the long timelines. That’s the process that we have to deal with.”

Chief Smith further explained that the department has to contact every possible judge to see if they will take the case. “You have the option to deny it, so if you can’t get a judge to take the case, it just sits there,” he added.