Police training exercise draws criticism

Police Chief Steven Krokoff says his department was "insensitive" when it conducted a training exercise that involved police firing blank ammunition and using flash grenades near occupied apartments at the Ida J. Yarbrough Homes.

The empty apartments used for the training are in front of a parking lot and steps away from two other buildings that are still filled with tenants.

Bernie Bryan, president of the Albany chapter of the NAACP, visited the complex Sunday afternoon and found that the door at one of the units — No. 165 — was still open, with spent shell casings still littering the floor inside. A gooey substance that appeared to be fake blood stained the sidewalk outside.

Contacted Sunday about the incident, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings said "I don't think it was necessary to do it the way it was done. The training is necessary, but obviously there should be information that should be shared." When told about the open apartment with shell casings inside, Jennings said he would send someone over immediately to clean up the apartment and lock the door.

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