TUPPER LAKE – State police investigators arrested four employees of Sunmount Developmental Center in Tupper Lake Thursday after a grand jury indicted them on charges of assaulting one of Sunmount’s residents with disabilities last fall.

The arrestees are Franklin P. Mussen, 37, of Tupper Lake; Howard A. Shorette, 49, of Colton; Jerry W. Bush, 41, of Star Lake; and Todd G. LaValley, 37, of Tupper Lake.

Each was charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person (felony), second-degree assault (felony), third-degree assault (misdemeanor) and official misconduct (misdemeanor). Mussen was also charged with criminal obstruction of breathing (misdemeanor).

Police said in a press release that the assault took place on Oct. 3, 2014. Trooper Kyle Otis, spokesman for state police Troop B, said the alleged victim was male and that the incident took place in Sunmount’s Center for Intensive Treatment, a secure section of its main campus in Tupper Lake.

A Franklin County grand jury, after considering the evidence, indicted these four staffers, determining that there was enough evidence to proceed with the charges. County Judge Robert Main Jr. issued the arrest warrants, and the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation carried them out.

The four men were remanded to the county jail in Malone, where they remained this morning. They are scheduled to appear in county court today.

A representative of the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office said Assistant DA David Hayes is prosecuting the case. The Enterprise was unable to reach Hayes for comment.

Fifteen Sunmount employees have been arrested so far this year for offenses such as assault and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person. A few Sunmount residents have also been arrested, either for assault or for falsely reporting incidents.

Since 2012, in response to a New York Times investigation of abuses at state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities facilities, any reported incident is investigated by the state’s Justice Center rather than an internal team. One side-effect has been that accused staff are out on paid leave longer than before while the cases are investigated, and the subsequent short-staffing has led to tension at Sunmount. The OPWDD announced plans to hire 44 additional Sunmount staff members in May, although it is unclear how many of those positions have been filled.

“Any abuse of people in our care is completely unacceptable,” OPWDD Director of Communications Jennifer O’Sullivan wrote via email. “Overall, incidents at Sunmount are actually down this year. If you look at the arrests that have taken place in 2015, you will see that several of the arrests involved investigations that originated from prior years’ allegations.

“Enhanced staff training incorporating the PROMOTE curriculum has been implemented to strengthen relationships between individuals and staff. The onboarding of new staff is a continual process as employees retire and natural attrition takes place.”

According to OPWDD’s website, PROMOTE is an acronym for “Positive Relationships Offer More Opportunities To Everyone.” The program was designed to replace the Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention Revised. OPWDD began implementing PROMOTE in 2013.