A new report from the New York State Attorney General’s Office found that a Binghamton police officer used excessive force and failed to follow standard arresting procedures during an arrest last year.
In the early hours of January 1, 2023, Officer Brad Kaczynski, who was off-duty but in uniform at the time, knelt on Binghamton resident Hamail Waddell’s neck while Waddell was handcuffed and lying face down on the sidewalk.
Several fights had broken out before the arrest outside of a bar in downtown Binghamton. According to the report, Kaczynski intervened to stop the fights, along with several on-duty police officers.
Waddell was involved in the fight, and Kaczynski and another officer handcuffed him before Kaczynski knelt with his right knee and shin on Waddell’s upper back and neck for over a minute. Waddell repeatedly shouted that he could not breathe, and several bystanders asked Kaczynski to stop kneeling on him.
Waddell was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment later that month.
The attorney general's report found Kaczynski violated Binghamton Police Department’s use-of-force policy, as well as the state’s policy. The report criticized the other police officers at the scene for not intervening to stop the excessive force. And it also found that officers did not follow standard arrest procedures by failing to search and secure Waddell before putting him in a police transport van.
The Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office, which released the report Friday, called Binghamton police’s internal investigation of the arrest “flawed.”
“Investigators used leading questions when interviewing Officer Kaczynski and his fellow officers, did not fully review footage of the event before questioning the officers, and their write-up displayed bias in favor of the officers and treated the arrested person’s version of events with undue skepticism,” the report states.
Video of the arrest, taken by a bystander, prompted outrage, public protest and calls for Kaczynski’s firing. Shortly after the arrest, Binghamton officials said Kaczynski had been placed on administrative duty.
The attorney general’s office recommended the police department “discipline Officer Kaczynski, including potential termination,” update its internal affairs policies, and train all staff on use-of-force standards.
In a statement shortly after the report was released, Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said the report “fails to accurately portray the full circumstances of the incident.”
“In the coming days, we will be reviewing this report and all surrounding information and intend to conduct a thoughtful, comprehensive, and thorough evaluation of the report,” Kraham said.
Along with the statement, Kraham also released the Binghamton Police Department’s footage of the arrest.