Former safety officer speaks out about arrest

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October 15, 2009

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG The Press Republican Thu Oct 15, 2009, 06:25 PM EDT

SARANAC LAKE — A former Paul Smith’s College safety officer says he hopes the misdemeanor case against him will be resolved in his favor.

Shawn A. Hopseker and fellow safety officer Brian L. Taylor, both 37 and of Saranac Lake, were arrested this week after, State Police said, they went into a woman’s Vermontville home, disabled her phone and menaced her.

Both men have since lost their jobs at the local college.

Hopseker is publicly disputing the official version of events that led to their arrests on charges of third-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal mischief and endangering the welfare of a child.

Hopseker said the residence is where Taylor lived with the woman until a few weeks ago, when their relationship became rocky.

Taylor still had keys to the property, he said, but had been staying at Hopseker’s residence.

He said the pair went to Taylor’s residence early Tuesday morning after becoming concerned about the woman’s well-being and knowing that two children were in the residence.

“We were worried, and we responded. That was the whole reason that we responded to the residence that morning,” Hopseker said Thursday.

Though they were employed at the college at the time of the arrests, they were off-duty.

In a statement to authorities after his arrest, Hopseker maintained, “The reason why we went to the house was that Brian was concerned that she was going to hurt herself.”

Hopseker said an argument ensued between Taylor and the woman shortly after their arrival and that he heard the woman’s daughter calling 911.

Hopseker denied having any knowledge about cut phone lines or broken glass in the residence.

“There’s a lot more to this, and they’re just accusations (against us) at this point,” he said.

“We’re both upstanding citizens and have never been in trouble.

“We take our responsibilities and character very seriously, and this has dramatically turned our lives upside down, and we didn’t do anything wrong.”

Both men are due back in court Oct. 29 to face the allegations.

E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at:

avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com