Peter Rauch's Parole Hearing Transcript

Peter Rauch DIN #17B3297 NYSID #
2 NYS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION

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3
Parole Board Interview
4
In the Matter
5
-of-
6
PETER RAUCH
7
DIN #17B3297
8 NYSID #
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9
TYPE OF INTERVIEW: Initial
10
11 LOCATION: Woodbourne Correctional Facility

Video-conferenced to NYS DOCCS
12 20 Manchester Road
Poughkeepsie, New York
13
14 DATE: July 16, 2019

DECISION DATE: July 16, 2019
15
16 BEFORE: COMMISSIONER W. SMITH

COMMISSIONER C. DAVIS
17
18
ALSO PRESENT: SORC D. CRUZ
19 SORC C. SMITH
PA E. VANETTEN
20
21
22 AT FACILITY: SORC E. MURTHA

ORC N. BURRELL
23
24
25 REPORTER: Erin Chickery, Hearing Reporter
Schmieder & Meister, Inc. (845) 452-1988

2
1 COMM. DAVIS: Good evening, sir.
2 THE INMATE: Good evening.
3 COMM. DAVIS: Would you please state your name
4 for the record?
5 THE INMATE: Peter Rauch.
6 COMM. DAVIS: Mr. Rauch, I'm Commissioner
7 Davis, joining me this evening is Commissioner W. Smith.
8 COMM. SMITH: Good afternoon.
9 THE INMATE: How are you?
10 COMM. SMITH: Good.
11 INTERVIEW BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS:
12 Q. So, sir, you're present today for your initial
13 interview; is that correct?
14 A. Yes, sir.
15 Q. Very well. Are you prepared to move forward with
16 today's interview?
17 A. Yes, sir.
18 Q. I'm going to ask you how have you prepared?
19 A. I submitted a parole packet to you, I don't know if you
20 have it.
21 Q. I do. Thank you for that submission and we'll go
22 through that momentarily. Anything else?
23 A. Just had a lot of time to reflect and think about what
24 got me here.
25 Q. Okay. So let's talk about that, what got you here, I

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1 read through your institutional record and it says your crime of
2 conviction here is Leaving the Scene of an Accident and I have it
3 here death by Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree.
4 Leaving the Scene of an Accident you received a sentence of two
5 to six years and the Vehicular Manslaughter you received a
6 sentence of two to six to run concurrent; is that correct?
7 A. That's correct.
8 Q. Tell me what happened here. I have a brief description
9 outlined in the offense but I really want to hear from you
10 describing what happened in your own words.
11 A. Well, I had a friend -- I was supposed to get married
12 and I had a friend come into town that was supposed to be the
13 best man at my wedding. He called me and said that he was in
14 town and would like to get together so we got together and going
15 over wedding plans, bachelor party plans, and met up with another
16 friend and we were having a few drinks. We went and got some
17 dinner and I was driving my friend back to his car when something
18 hit the vehicle. At the time I didn't know anything, what had
19 happened, it was the side of my car and I continued to the next
20 block where there was a parking lot where his car was and I got
21 out, looked at the vehicle, and just overwhelming fear came
22 through my body and my mind was everywhere. Everything that I
23 had done in my life, worked for, dreams were flashing through my
24 brain and I just couldn't think, I was so scared that I just
25 dropped everything and just started walking. Like I said, I

4
1 wasn't -- my brain was not thinking correctly and I didn't know
2 what to do, I was so overwhelmed I just -- I didn't even know
3 where I was walking at the time and I just walked home. I
4 figured the best thing I could do is just go home. It wasn't my
5 car and, like I said, it was just an extremely scary feeling.
6 Q. Thank you for giving me some of that information. I do
7 have some questions here, you said it wasn't your car; is that
8 correct?
9 A. Correct.
10 Q. Was that a car issued to you from your agency that you
11 worked for?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Very good. And what type of car was that?
14 A. It was a Chevy Impala.
15 Q. Chevy Impala. And you used that vehicle to conduct
16 your official line of work; is that correct?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And what type of work did you do?
19 A. I was an investigator detective for the district
20 attorney's office.
21 Q. And as an investigator detective for the district
22 attorney's office, did you have a firearm?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Did you have your firearm with you that night?
25 A. I did, I came directly from work.

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1 Q. You've also indicated, sir, that you hit something; is
2 that correct?
3 A. Yeah, there was a noise that had hit the car, nothing
4 happened in front of me and my friend and I were talking and we
5 didn't -- I didn't know what it was. I didn't know if somebody
6 threw something at the vehicle, I had no idea.
7 Q. And that something that you described that hit your
8 vehicle, was that your victim, your 18 year old victim,
10 A. That's what it came to be, yes.
11 Q. And as you said earlier, everything you worked hard for
12 flew before your eyes, at that moment in time did it also pass
13 before your eyes that perhaps you need to get this person some
14 medical attention?
15 A. Like I said, at the time I did not know that it was a
16 person, it was never in the front of my vehicle, and looking back
17 at it now, you know, if I could do it all over again it would be
18 a different outcome I'd think. I'd hope.
19 Q. You've indicated that you were operating your issued
20 Chevy Impala by your state agency, correct?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Did you have a state issued cell phone with you?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Did you use that cell phone to call and report that you
25 had an accident?

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1 A. No.
2 Q. Did you have a radio equipped inside that car?
3 A. A what?
4 Q. A radio. Was your vehicle equipped with a radio?
5 A. You know, this was not my official car, my car was in
6 the shop so I would believe that there was one but I cannot
7 remember.
8 Q. Okay. Do you remember using that radio to call and
9 report an accident?
10 A. No, I did not use one.
11 Q. So you had a cell phone on you, you did not call to
12 report an accident in the vehicle used by the district attorney's
13 office afforded to you, nor did you use the radio in the car to
14 report an accident, is that typical behavior from a law
15 enforcement professional?
16 A. No, it's not.
17 Q. Why did you demonstrate that behavior, sir?
18 A. Like I said, everything happened and I wasn't thinking
19 clearly. Obviously I had been drinking and my judgment and
20 everything that I did was not normal.
21 Q. You referenced that a number of times, that you weren't
22 thinking clearly because you were under the influence, how many
23 drinks of alcohol did you have?
24 A. They said in the reports it was 16 over a 10 hour
25 period.

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1 Q. Okay. And how many bars did you frequent that night?
2 A. Two.
3 Q. Two bars. So a lot has happened here, sir.
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. The public has great trust in you as a law enforcement
6 professional to investigate crimes and keep the public safe.
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. In this situation not so much.
9 A. You're exactly right.
10 Q. So you've been incarcerated for approximately one year
11 and 11 months on a six year term sentence. Enough time to
12 reprocess what has happened, what are your thoughts, sir?
13 A. Well, I've thought and reflected about everything that
14 I've done and the fact that I've taken hopes and dreams that I
15 have away from someone and I know that people have told me that
16 you have to forgive yourself, but I don't think I'll ever be able
17 to do that until I'm able to make amends with the people that
18 I've hurt. I've written the family a letter expressing
19 my remorse and my sorrow for them and I've had a lot of time to
20 talk with others and hopefully help others not make the same bad
21 choice that I made.
22 Q. Thank you for offering that. I do have here that you
23 reached out to the Apology Bank and you've sent a letter
24 January 2019 so that will be considered as well. We've outlined
25 here that as a law enforcement professional that you've consumed

8
1 alcohol while driving a vehicle issued to you to conduct your
2 official line of work and that you left the scene of an accident
3 when your victim, 18 year old was leaving his job
4 and was struck by you driving approximately 40 miles per hour
5 above the speed limit in a designated area. I want to get an
6 idea of what you've been doing while confined because the instant
7 offense is what it is, it's a horrific, horrific lapse in
8 judgment that caused a fatal accident of this young man.
9 A. Yes, sir.
10 Q. I also recognize, sir, that your service to the
11 community and the line of work that you've done, as you've
12 stated, you built a career in keeping the public safe, but here,
13 sir, your lapse in judgment caused the death of this young man.
14 You know that, sir, right?
15 A. Yes, sir.
16 Q. But let's get an idea of what you've been doing while
17 you've been confined here. I have here that you're 40 years old
18 and this is your first term of incarceration?
19 A. Yes, sir.
20 Q. And that you have not received any misbehavior reports
21 during your term of confinement. I also have noted here that
22 you've been actively programming, you've completed back in
23 July 2018, you've also completed ART in September 2018, and that
24 you are presently working in the visitation area; is that right?
25 A. Yes, sir.

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1 Q. Very good. And you are in protective custody as well,
2 correct?
3 A. I am.
4 Q. Very well. I also have here a COMPAS Risk and Needs
5 Assessment, your COMPAS rates you as being low risk in many of
6 the indicated categories, such as risk of felony violence, arrest
7 risk, abscond risk, criminal involvement, history of violence and
8 prison misconduct. The COMPAS also suggests that re-entry
9 substance abuse is probable risk for you but I note as mentioned
10 a moment ago that you have participated in acquiring skills
11 to support your sobriety.
12 A. Yes, sir.
13 Q. You also have a Case Plan on file. Your Case Plan is
14 designed to address many of those areas that you've identified
15 and you wish to improve upon. You've outlined that you want to
16 prepare a parole packet, you've achieved that goal, you submitted
17 a very nice parole packet here for the Board so we thank you for
18 that, and you have additional goals as well that we will
19 consider. I also have your Sentencing Minutes here, your
20 Sentencing Minutes, just give me a moment, I know you appeared
21 before the Honorable Stephen J. Doughtery, D-o-u-g-h-t-e-r-y, at
22 which time you were represented by your attorney Emil Rossi,
23 right?
24 A. Emil, yes.
25 Q. And William Sullivan?

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1 A. Correct.
2 Q. Very well. I read through your Sentencing Minutes, I
3 know your victim's mother she spoke out, , right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. A very heartfelt moment that she shared to the Courts
6 and I'm just gonna quote on page three, line 18 through 19, this
7 really stands out for me and she says here, and I quote, "You
8 were someone that I was supposed to trust to help instead
9 you took his life." As I read through the Sentencing Minutes
10 that just sort of stood out for me, what are your thoughts about
11 that?
12 A. I agree, I took that oath to serve and protect the
13 people of the county and I let everyone down. I made a very bad
14 choice that I can assure you will never happen again. I've been
15 here with -- volunteered for an class within my unit and I've
16 heard the struggles of other people in the unit with alcohol and
17 it's really opened up my eyes for myself and listening to others.
18 I hope that I can one day make amends with everyone that I've
19 hurt.
20 Q. I will say this to you, sir, well said. I think this
21 situation here really embodies what alcohol and drug addiction
22 can do and surely your career suggests you are a good person,
23 right?
24 A. I am a good person.
25 Q. But the addiction exposure to these adverse experiences

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1 and as such we have an 18 year old man who was cut down in the
2 prime of his life. I do have letters submitted on your behalf,
3 letters of assurance, we have a letter from
4 ,
. We also have a letter from your
7 brother, your brother he says he wants you home, he's
8 willing to support you by any means necessary. We also have a
9 letter here that you actively participated in 26 weeks of 12
10 Steps Programming, right?
11 A. Yes, sir.
12 Q. So this really demonstrates the supports you have and
13 what you're willing to do to regain a sense of your life so we
14 thank you for that submission. As mentioned, we also have your
15 parole packet so thank you for that submission as well. I know a
16 lot of work went into this parole packet and I don't take it
17 lightly, all right?
18 A. Thank you.
19 Q. You're welcome, sir. Very nice pictures of your
20 nephew's graduation, your family's wedding, and this really
21 embodies a life, a life that really was built upon a lot of hard
22 work that was just taken apart by some seemingly poor decisions
23 that led to this serious consequence.
24 A. Yes, sir.
25 Q. But you can begin rebuilding it and I think you've

12
1 taken the first steps in doing that, all right?
2 A. Thank you.
3 Q. You're welcome, sir. We reach out as we do in all
4 cases to the officials, that being the district attorney, the
5 Courts, and your defense attorney, in your case, sir, we received
6 a response from the district attorney that we will consider,
7 okay?
8 A. Regarding that, I know that you received it and I don't
9 know if it's my time or place but there was some things in there
10 that weren't accurate and I didn't know if I should touch upon
11 those or not?
12 Q. What are you talking about?
13 A. In his letter, I don't know where he got them from, but
14 I didn't know if it's my time or place to either --
15 Q. I can't comment on the contents of that letter. I know
16 you had a special prosecutor appointed to the case, correct?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. I can just advise you that we do have a letter on file
19 and it will be considered but not the contents. I do recognize
20 that you have received a Certificate of Earned Eligibility and
21 that will be considered as well, all right?
22 A. Okay, thank you.
23 COMM. DAVIS: You're welcome, sir.
24 Commissioner Smith, any questions?
25 COMM. SMITH: How would you know the contents

13
1 of the district attorney letter?
2 THE INMATE: He posted it online, sir, for
3 everyone to see and my family had read it to me.
4 COMM. DAVIS: Thank you for sharing that
5 information. I don't --
6 COMM. SMITH: I do have another question, prior
7 to this you worked for the district attorney's office, right?
8 THE INMATE: Excuse me?
9 COMM. SMITH: You worked as an investigator for
10 the district attorney's office, right?
11 THE INMATE: Correct.
12 COMM. SMITH: Where did you work prior to that?
13 THE INMATE: Prior to the district attorney's
14 office?
15 COMM. SMITH: Yes.
16 THE INMATE: I worked for my family, we have a
17 business in town.
18 COMM. SMITH: Usually investigators for the
19 district attorney's office come from some other police agency.
20 THE INMATE: Correct, they put me through the
21 police academy.
22 COMM. SMITH: The district attorney's office
23 itself put you through the police academy?
24 THE INMATE: Yeah, they sponsored me to go to
25 the police academy, it was -- you can do what's called a

14
1 Two-Phase Process --
2 COMM. SMITH: I'm somewhat familiar with it and
3 that's why I'm surprised you didn't come from another police
4 agency.
5 THE INMATE: I had a part-time job with another
6 police department.
7 COMM. SMITH: Where was that?
8 THE INMATE:
9 COMM. SMITH: And you were a police officer?
10 THE INMATE: Yes.
11 COMM. SMITH: Why didn't you state that?
12 THE INMATE: I had the district attorney's job
13 first before I got the other one, that's why I didn't say it.
14 COMM. SMITH: All right, thank you.
15 COMM. DAVIS: Thank you, Commissioner.
16 CONTINUED BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS:
17 Q. So, you know, this is just a bad situation on all ends.
18 You're a young man who had done good for the community at some
19 point and because of your drinking and driving behavior created
20 these horrific outcomes for this young man, right?
21 A. I agree.
22 Q. I'm just trying to receive all of this information,
23 balance it out, and make the best decision for all parties
24 involved and we don't know what we're gonna do. We'll deliberate
25 and we'll notify you of our decision in several days, okay?

15
1 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. I do want to invite you to make closing remarks if
3 you'd like for the record.
4 A. Yes, I would. I would just like to tell you that I'm
5 not a criminal, I'm a good person, I was a law abiding citizen, I
6 was a member of the community for 38 years, always helping
7 people, never had any issues with anyone, I never intended to
8 hurt anyone, let alone kill someone. I can assure you that this
9 was a very poor choice on my part and it will never happen again.
10 I can only pray that you'll find to release me so that I can
11 start making amends with the people that I've hurt, family,
12 friends, the family, and anyone else that I can help out.
13 I have to live with this for the rest of my life and there's
14 never a day that passes that I don't think about
15 COMM. DAVIS: Thank you, sir. Thank you for
16 that statement.
17 THE INMATE: Thank you.
18 COMM. DAVIS: We'll notify you of our decision.
19 (Interview concluded.)
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25

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2 (After due deliberation by the Parole Board Panel, the
3 following Decision was rendered:)
5 DECISION
7 Peter Rauch, parole denied. Hold 24 months. Next
8 appearance July 2021.
9 Despite an EEC, parole is denied. After a record review,
10 personal interview and due deliberation, it is the determination
11 of this panel that if released at this time there's a reasonable
12 probability you would not live at liberty without violating the
13 law.
14 Further, your release at this time is incompatible with
15 the welfare of the community. You stand convicted of Leaving the
16 Scene of an Accident/Death and Vehicular Manslaughter in the
17 Second Degree. The instant offense involved your drinking and
18 driving behavior that caused the death of your male victim, 18
19 year old . While operating a vehicle issued by your
20 agency, you consumed a number of alcoholic beverages, recklessly
21 speeding down a local street in excess of the speed limit,
22 striking your victim, and left the scene of the accident without
23 ever reporting the crime. As a criminal justice professional
24 charged with investigating crimes to ensure public safety, who
25 had been afforded the public's trust, your actions are of deep

17
1 concern for this panel. This panel questions your judgment and
2 disregard for the law.
3 Consideration has been given to your COMPAS Risk and Needs
4 Assessment. Your COMPAS indicates low risk scores. While your
5 COMPAS risk scores are low, the panel is not convinced you can be
6 law abiding in the community. The panel remains particularly
7 concerned about your status as a criminal justice professional
8 employed by a local district attorney's office and yet you
9 committed such a horrendous crime. Discretionary release shall
10 not be granted merely as a reward for good conduct or efficient
11 performance of duties while confined. This panel finds your
12 course of conduct following the instant offense unbecoming of a
13 law enforcement professional. Parole is denied.
14 (All Commissioners concur.)
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2 CERTIFICATION
4 I, Erin Chickery, Court Reporter and Notary Public, in
5 and for the State of New York, do hereby certify that I attended
6 the foregoing proceedings, took stenographic notes of the same,
7 and that the foregoing, consisting of 18 pages, is a true and
8 correct copy of the same and whole thereof.
10
11 Erin Chickery
12 Erin Chickery, Court Reporter
13 Dated: July 16, 2019
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Peter Rauch DIN #17B3297 NYSID #

2 NYS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION

11 LOCATION: Woodbourne Correctional Facility

14 DATE: July 16, 2019

16 BEFORE: COMMISSIONER W. SMITH

22 AT FACILITY: SORC E. MURTHA

25 REPORTER: Erin Chickery, Hearing Reporter

Schmieder & Meister, Inc. (845) 452-1988

Peter Rauch DIN #17B3297 NYSID #

1 COMM. DAVIS: Good evening, sir.

2 THE INMATE: Good evening.

3 COMM. DAVIS: Would you please state your name

4 for the record?

5 THE INMATE: Peter Rauch.

6 COMM. DAVIS: Mr. Rauch, I'm Commissioner

7 Davis, joining me this evening is Commissioner W. Smith.

8 COMM. SMITH: Good afternoon.

9 THE INMATE: How are you?

10 COMM. SMITH: Good.

11 INTERVIEW BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS:

12 Q. So, sir, you're present today for your initial

13 interview; is that correct?

15 Q. Very well. Are you prepared to move forward with

18 Q. I'm going to ask you how have you prepared?

19 A. I submitted a parole packet to you, I don't know if you

21 Q. I do. Thank you for that submission and we'll go

22 through that momentarily. Anything else?

23 A. Just had a lot of time to reflect and think about what

25 Q. Okay. So let's talk about that, what got you here, I

Schmieder & Meister, Inc. (845) 452-1988

Peter Rauch DIN #17B3297 NYSID #

1 read through your institutional record and it says your crime of

2 conviction here is Leaving the Scene of an Accident and I have it

3 here death by Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree.

4 Leaving the Scene of an Accident you received a sentence of two

5 to six years and the Vehicular Manslaughter you received a

6 sentence of two to six to run concurrent; is that correct?

8 Q. Tell me what happened here. I have a brief description

9 outlined in the offense but I really want to hear from you

10 describing what happened in your own words.

11 A. Well, I had a friend -- I was supposed to get married

13 best man at my wedding. He called me and said that he was in

19 happened, it was the side of my car and I continued to the next

21 out, looked at the vehicle, and just overwhelming fear came

22 through my body and my mind was everywhere. Everything that I

23 had done in my life, worked for, dreams were flashing through my

24 brain and I just couldn't think, I was so scared that I just

25 dropped everything and just started walking. Like I said, I

Schmieder & Meister, Inc. (845) 452-1988

Peter Rauch DIN #17B3297 NYSID #

1 wasn't -- my brain was not thinking correctly and I didn't know

2 what to do, I was so overwhelmed I just -- I didn't even know

3 where I was walking at the time and I just walked home. I

4 figured the best thing I could do is just go home. It wasn't my

5 car and, like I said, it was just an extremely scary feeling.

6 Q. Thank you for giving me some of that information. I do

13 Q. Very good. And what type of car was that?

14 A. It was a Chevy Impala.

15 Q. Chevy Impala. And you used that vehicle to conduct

16 your official line of work; is that correct?

18 Q. And what type of work did you do?

19 A. I was an investigator detective for the district