Politics & Government
Clarkstown Ex-Police Chief Sullivan To Get Do-Over
A judge has ruled two members of the town council in 2017 should have recused themselves from the vote to fire him.
CLARKSTOWN, NY — State Supreme Court Justice Robert Berliner annulled the Clarkstown town board's 2017 vote to fire then-suspended police Chief Michael Sullivan, The Journal News reports.
The judge let the disciplinary charges stand and refused to grant Sullivan's request that the town pay his legal fees. The decision does restore him to his former status, meaning the town will have to cough up back pay, according to reporter Robert Brum. Sullivan was paid $273,000 annually.
The board must vote again, TJN reported, and town Supervisor George Hoehmann must recuse himself, leaving the vote to councilmembers Frank Borrelli, Donald Franchino, Patrick Carroll and Peter Bradley.
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Sullivan had been suspended from his job since July of 2016, and Hearing Officer Robert J. Ponzini recommended firing in 2017, saying Sullivan had been found guilty of using improper surveillance for political and personal reasons.
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The suspension had to do in part with the Rockland County Strategic Intelligence Unit. According to the Clarkstown Police Department's annual report, the Strategic Intelligence Unit was created in early 2015 by the Town of Clarkstown Police Department and the Rockland County District Attorney's Office as a joint intelligence based operation.
Town officials alleged it was also involved in investigating local politics, including surveillance on an African-American community group in Haverstraw, local Black Lives Matter activity, a town justice and the Rockland Sheriff.
The hearing officer said Sullivan intentionally did a hard reset on his department-issued cellphone, deleting all its data right after he was suspended over how he had conducted an internal investigation, and while he was a named defendant in pending litigation, one of which had a hold in place, Ponzini wrote. That was misconduct.
Sullivan also did not prevent Sgt. Stephen Cole-Hatchard, the unit's director, from wiping his cellphone and removing the hard drive from his departmental computer. Ponzini found that misconduct as well.
In 2017, the chief ran and lost to Hoehmann in the election for Clarkstown Town Supervisor.
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