Bucky Report Released

 It's a critical report that says state police dropped the ball on last year's search for Ralph “Bucky” Phillips .The report was released by the New York State Police Friday and says the search for fugitive Ralph “Bucky” Philips was hindered by communication problems and an over-reliance on an elite unit of the New York State Police.

After “Bucky” Philips escaped from the Erie County Correctional Facility on April 2, 2006, he shot three state troopers, one fatally, before being captured on September 8th in a field near the New York-Pennsylvania line.

The report finds criticism that field commanders did not communicate instructions clearly enough.

Additionally, deficiencies in the state police radio system, and belief that Philips was monitoring dispatches, led commanders to use cell phones to convey assignments. The report called this decision an error.

Furthermore, commanders relied too much on the mobile rescue team.

The review uncovered operational deficiencies, and recommendations have been suggested to correct these communication problems.

The report says the hunt for “Bucky” was the largest and most challenging search in the history of the New York State Police.