March 15, 2011 Retired Cayuga County deputy found murdered at home www.privateofficer.com
Bernard A. Gallow, of 2301 Sherwood Road, was killed in his home around 11:17 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
Gallow, 58, had worked for the sheriff’s department since 1988. He retired from the road patrol, then was rehired as a part-time security guard at the county courthouse, Sheriff David Gould said.
“I’ve known Bernie for 30 years — a great guy, a nice young man who never bothered anybody and kept to himself,” Gould said. “He loved the job and doing what he did. He has a great family and it’s a total waste of life.”
No additional details about the homicide were provided, but Gould indicated that Gallow, who was not on duty, died by gunfire.
“It’s not easy to see one of your own deceased, especially from a gunshot wound,” he said. “Everybody at that scene knew Bernie. … It’s going to be a long, hard week.”
Gallow was dead when police arrived and the suspect was apprehended at the scene, he said.
Scipio Fire Department Assistant Chief James Perkins, who knew Gallow professionally, was at the scene and said that the body was found in the garage.
The suspect, whose name authorities have not released, was arraigned early Sunday morning in Brutus Town Court on charges of second-degree murder and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Gould said.
The sheriff’s department is not releasing the suspect’s name because “we don’t want people to find out who he is until we find out where he was last night and what he was doing,” Gould said.
Gallow was also a part-time officer in the Moravia Police Department. Steven Cuddeback, a Cayuga County Legislator and member of the Moravia Police Department, said Gallow’s name is still up on the schedule for this week.
“I was always grateful to see Bernie when I needed backup and he rolled in,” Cuddeback said. “He was a good guy to work with, a straight-forward guy. … He went out and did his job without a lot of hoopla or fanfare, but he was very persistent. When he got on a case he worked it to completion.”
Gallow was with the Moravia police before signing on with the sheriff’s department. He also fought in the Vietnam War with the Marine Corps, Cuddeback said.
For about four years beginning in 2005, Gallow was also a volunteer driver and emergency medical technician with the Southern Cayuga Instant Aid ambulance company, Director Patrick Sullivan said.
Gould confirmed that the homicide was “not at all work-related,” and said he was with the Gallow family the entire night after the shooting.
Gallow is survived by his wife Geralyn and their three children.
“Our family is just devastated,” his wife said before referring further comment to Gould.
Some of the family members were at home at the time of the shooting and one of them called 911, Gould said.
A press conference is scheduled for noon Monday at the Cayuga County Public Safety Building on County House Road in Sennett.
State police, the Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office, the Cayuga County Coroner’s Office, the Scipio Fire Department and Southern Cayuga Ambulance assisted the sheriff’s office at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
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