Update, 10/28/2023
The officer was exonerated by a grand jury. There was no clear evidence of eavesdropping having occured.
CANANDAIGUA — While he declined to talk at length about the case, the attorney representing the Ontario County sheriff’s corrections officer accused of eavesdropping applauded the grand jury that exonerated the officer.
“This ordeal has been devastating to Adam, who loved his job,” attorney Clark Zimmermann said Friday about Adam Broadwell. “We are thankful for the grand jurors and their attention to this case.” -Finger Lake Times
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. – A corrections officer in Ontario County, NY, is under arrest, accused of using an electronic device to spy on people’s conversations.
Deputy Adam Broadwell was charged with eavesdropping, possession of an eavesdropping device and official misconduct. Sheriff David Cirencione explained that it was reported that the deputy was using an electronic listening device for the purpose of listening in to conversations that he was not a part of and without the knowledge or permission of the people involved in the conversation. It is alleged that this occurred regularly in 2022 while he was stationed in the court house and could listen in to jury deliberations. The sheriff would not comment on whether the intercepted conversations were used to provide information to others.
…A 20-year veteran of the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office’s Corrections Division is suspended without pay after he was arrested Tuesday on a felony eavesdropping charge.
Deputy Adam Broadwell, 44, was allegedly using an electronic hearing device – an earbud designed to cut out background noise and enhance other sound where directed – to listen in on conversations while he was on duty and stationed at the Ontario County Courthouse, Sheriff David Cirencione said Wednesday.
Cirencione said Broadwell was not part of the conversations and the people involved had no knowledge nor did they gave permission for him to listen. Cirencione said he was unable to provide specific details such as the location in the building, what was heard or if any court cases were affected, adding the allegations will have to play out in the court process.
Broadwell was charged with eavesdropping, which is a class E felony, and class A misdemeanor charges of possession of an eavesdropping device and official misconduct. [from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle]
The description given was that the device involved some sort of “earbud” that was designed to filter out background noise and enhance amplification of voices.
While this description is not clear, our understanding of available devices lead us to think it may have been something similar to the item described here, which appears similar to a standard hearing aid, available from various spy shops.
Possible type of device described.
(Click for larger image.)
Police briefing provided by the Ontario County Sheriff’s office.
Adam Broadwell has plead not guilty to the charges.