Quick thinking by Brockport police officers and assistance from Monroe County Sheriff's deputies put their training to work during a bank robbery at Chase Manhattan Bank on Main Street on Monday, December 19. A 50-year-old Buffalo man, identified by police as William K. Fragner, walked into the bank, passed a note to a bank employee demanding money. He told the employee he had a gun. The gun turned out to be a pellet gun. According to police, Fragner left the bank with close to $40,000 in a paper bag and nearly ran into Brockport Police Officer Michael DeToy. The officer ordered him to surrender, the man then claimed to have a bomb strapped to his body and said he had left another inside the bank. Police Chief Dan Varrenti said DeToy drew his weapon and ordered the suspect to stop. At the Monday, December 19, night village board meeting, Varrenti told village officials that when a gust of wind blew the suspect's coat open, DeToy could see what looked to be a bomb strapped to the man's body. Rather than using deadly force, which Monroe County District Attorney Michael Green said "would have been justified," DeToy handcuffed Fragner to a railing outside the bank. Sergeant Douglas Ziegler and Officer Paul Wheat were on hand at the robbery within seconds of the call. "That's the benefit of having a police department in the village - amazingly quick response," Varrenti said. "The officers did a fantastic job of handling the situation and their response time was less than 30 seconds." Fire Chief Christian McCullough commended the sergeant and the officers for taking proper action in a "very precarious situation." SWAT officers and Monroe County bomb squad officers responded to the robbery and a "bomb robot" was brought to the scene to examine the wires, duct tape and foil belt the suspect had strapped to himself as well as the device that was inside the bank. The block around the bank was closed down for close to two hours while the investigation and examination of the alleged bombs was completed. The suspect was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital for evaluation and was later released to the custody of the Brockport Police Department. Varrenti said he has been charged with first degree robbery and first degree placing of a false bomb, both felonies. December 25, 2005 |
