Officer Sherri Barnes Accused of Prescription Drug Abuse

SCHENECTADY

A seasoned city police investigator has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an internal probe into allegations of prescription drug abuse, according to individuals familiar with the situation.

Officer Sherri Barnes, who works in the department's Youth Aid Bureau, was placed on paid leave over the weekend for at least 30 days as the department's Office of Professional Standards looks into the matter. She did not return a call Monday to her home seeking comment, but the sources, who requested anonymity, said the prescription drug abuse accusations against Barnes were launched by the state Department of Health, which later notified her employer. Several calls Monday to the cellphones of members of the agency's press office were not returned.

Barnes is the latest Schenectady police officer to be forced off the job for alleged misdeeds.

Last week, Officer John Lewis, 39, was arrested for the fifth time in nine months for allegedly trashing his mother's home during a physical altercation with his police officer brother. He is on unpaid leave. Lewis' attorney later said his client was seeking treatment for substance abuse.

Lewis also face charges for a drunken-driving incident in which he is accused of running into another car and also for allegedly threatening to kill his former wife and anyone she dated.

In early December, Sgt. Joseph A. Peters IV, 42, was placed on paid leave after being issued a ticket for driving while intoxicated and another for having a blood alcohol level above 0.08. He had been pulled over after a motorist reported seeing an erratic driver. It's unclear whether he is back on the job.

Five other Schenectady officers recently cleared in an alleged police brutality case stemming from a run-in with a drunken-driving suspect in December 2007 have been on paid leave since then.

Officials have said the departmental probe into the actions of officers Andrew Karaskiewicz, Eric Reyell, Daryl Mallard, Gregory Haffensteiner, Kevin Derkowski is winding down.

Barnes has been on the force since October 1984, according to city records. Her husband, Donald, also a city officer, has been with the department just over 23 years. Both currently work in the city youth bureau. In 2005, Barnes and another officer suffered minor injuries when a city man resisted arrest after a failed attempt to rob a bank on State Street.

While police interviewed his father, Kendall Spraragen entered the residence and fought with Barnes and Officer Philip Feldhaus when they tried to take him into custody. As a result, Barnes injured her knee and wrist and Feldhaus injured his hand. Both were treated at Ellis Hospital and released.