Leak of Draft Report on Clarkstown Police Draws One Cop's Fire

NEW CITY, NY — The leak of a draft report prepared by consultants hired to examine the costs and operations of the Clarkstown Police Department makes the process seem a lot more like a political witch hunt than factual inquiry, according to a veteran cop.

Administrative Lt. Dan Weisberg wrote a long Facebook response about the leak to The Journal News.

According to Weisberg, the consultants, The Bonadio Group, met with members of the department and members of the town on Wednesday to go over the draft report specifically to catch factual errors. Several were discussed at the police meeting, and the consultant promised to make revisions. The people at that meeting were told that the report would be finalized and released in a couple of days.

So imagine Weisberg's surprise at the article on lohud.com.

"I was absolutely floored to see the Journal News run a story (at 6:24 pm) that had the full copy of the report in its original form, with none of the changes made, and missing the Draft watermark," he said on the Clarkstown Community's Facebook page. "Since the copies given to the PD had the watermark and were specifically not widely distributed, I can only surmise that the copy printed by the Journal News was released by the Town or the Bonadio Group."

He said it dashed his hopes that any dialogue was to be had with town officials and members of the police department, including the union.

"For me to see what I see on a daily basis and sit silently by while others engage in a free for all constantly bashing the PD is just not palatable, and so I speak up for those who are unable to do so. ... The behavior I see exhibited around this whole affair stinks," he wrote.

What I don’t want to do is spend my life on social media responding to every post made. I and the men and women of CPD would prefer to serve the Township as we have done for years and years with the highest quality of policing, and then go home and have normal lives with our family and friends, which I think is what the vast majority of the people in the Town do. It is to those people that I offer this explanation, as I feel they may be reasonable and objective enough to listen to facts and then make up their minds as to what type of community they want to live in and what type of police department they want serving them. Facts don’t become facts just because someone puts them in a report, or because they get repeated over and over on a FB page. Facts come from a variety of sources, must have some grounding in first-hand knowledge, and be backed up by honest data that is free from political bias.
.....
It hurts me to believe those I have known for years may be out to destroy the PD. I want to believe them when they say they have our back. I’m just struggling to see how that can be so based upon what I know and what I see.

He ended with some bleak humor, saying that if he did get suspended for speaking up, he'd be available for tennis.

In early 2016, the new town administration hired the consultants to take a look at the police department's cost and operations. The leak of their report comes as the department — and the community — have been roiled by Clarkstown's suspension of Police Chief Michael Sullivan and the suspension and resignation of Sgt. Stephen Cole-Hatchard.

Sullivan is one of the highest-paid local government officials in the state of New York, and the Clarkstown police department is one of the highest-paid (second only to Ramapo). Sullivan was the ninth-highest-paid local government official in New York state in 2014-15, with a salary of $272,037, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report.

SEE:

• Sullivan Denies Charges
• More Charges Filed Against Clarkstown Police Chief
• Judge says 'No' to Sullivan Re-instatement Request
• Rockland Lawmakers: Criminalize Interception Of Law Enforcement Emails By Civilians

Sullivan was suspended July 20.

IMAGE/ Weisberg's post on Clarkstown Community