Editor’s note: This story is part of a series called Shielded From Consequence, looking at the decertification of law enforcement officers in New York. The series is produced in partnership with the USA TODAY Network-New York and Syracuse University. You can read the first story in the series here.
In November of last year, Ryan Zarnowski’s public career as a peace officer appeared to have ended.
Internal documents show mistakes and discipline marked his only year as a jail deputy at the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office: He failed to complete trainings; superiors said he had “little to no regard for what is happening around [his] unit” and he gave special treatment to an incarcerated woman who leveled against him an unsubstantiated accusation that he raped her…