Trustee Accuses Southold Town Police Of 'Discriminatory' Actions

GREENPORT, NY — Village Trustee Doug Roberts feels Greenport is not getting its fair share of protection from Southold Town Police.

Roberts, in his monthly report to the village board, which he plans to present at Thursday's village board work session, requests a resolution disputing the March, 1997 stipulation settling the matter of the Village of Greenport and Mayor David E. Kapell vs. Town of Southold for discriminatory policing practices.

"The village brought this lawsuit shortly after disbanding its own police force, ultimately settling the matter out of court with the stipulation agreement attached to this report," Roberts wrote. "I submit to this board that this agreement is not being honored by the Southold Town Board and has not truly been in effect for years. We all respect our town police officers and the risks and sacrifices they and their families make when they put on the uniform and agree to protect our communities. But as a matter of policy, the Southold Town PD has not been directed by the town board to provide adequate protection here in the village as compared with hamlets outside the village," Roberts said.

Roberts then gave some examples of how he feels the town police have not met the terms of the stipulation:

"The stipulation agreement clearly states that there must be a patrol sector just for the area comprising the Greenport School District — village and outskirts in the 1944 zip code," he said.

Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley has said "several times publicly that there is one officer assigned to the downtown area and one officer who splits his/her time between Greenport and Orient/East Marion," Roberts said.

In addition, Roberts added, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, Southold town board members, and the Chief have said "many times publicly that the Village of Greenport gets more police attention than the rest of the town of Southold as a way to counter criticism that they are not adequately policing here. By this logic, the City of New York should have the same level of policing as Mattituck. Greenport is the area’s most densely populated community and its commercial hub. Naturally it will require more police resources to adequately enforce the law. The town’s argument here indicates prejudice against the village, as if we should be pleased with whatever police coverage they choose to provide regardless of our unique public safety" needs.

Roberts also brought up the issue of a Peeping Tom that has village residents afraid.

"For many years women in our community have been harassed and attacked, in their homes, often with children present, by a serial assailant called by some a 'peeping Tom'. The attacks encompass much more than peeping. The Town PD has failed to adequately investigate the case and make an arrest. Residents have reported dismissive and rushed interactions with police officers, including one who told a Greenport resident that she 'should have known that something like this would happen if she moved to 2nd Street'. At the Synergy event, I asked Chief Flatley if he was aware of another similar situation in other parts of Southold town where an alleged victim had attacked many residents, the alleged attacker’s identity and residence were widely known, yet no arrests had been made. He could not identify a similar such case happening elsewhere in their police jurisdiction. This is unacceptable and another indication of prejudicial treatment of Greenport residents by the Town PD," Roberts wrote.

The trustee also mentioned a stabbing in front of the IGA. "No arrests have been made. That means there is a person living freely amongst us who possesses the wherewithal and the arsenal to carry out deadly violence against Greenport residents. Yet no arrests?" Roberts said.

Robert asked Flatley at the recent Synergy Greenport "if there was another case that he could name outside of the Village of Greenport where a violent crime had been committed and no arrests made. He admitted that this case was the only one. This is unacceptable and another indication of prejudicial treatment of Greenport residents by the Town PD."

At the meeting, Flatley did respond to Roberts and said that there had been other incidents of crime with no arrests and said Roberts was "taking things a little bit out of context."

When Roberts asked Flatley at the Synergy event about break ins, Flatley said he had to "be more specific," and said there had been arrests related to break ins.

At the recent Synergy event, Flatley told Roberts, "Greenport gets a lot more police presence than any other hamlet in the Town of Southold." One officer is always assigned to Sixth Street in Greenport Village, with patrols on Knapp Place and Main Street, he said.

"Since Greenport does have a lot of activity, with a high concentration of housing, we also have a second car that goes from the 7-Eleven to Orient," Flatley said. "We spend a lot of time in Greenport." Not to mention the narcotics officers, a K-9 officer, and two police officers on foot during the summertime, Flatley said.

Flatley said additional Spanish speaking officers would always be a plus, although enough officers that speak Spanish are on duty to handle current needs.

Roberts asked for additional foot patrols and said village residents know where drug dealers live.

Town speaks out on Roberts' charges

When asked about Roberts' allegations Saturday, Police Chief Flatley said, "I believe that Mr. Roberts has confused his facts and his recollection of comments I have made previously regarding our department's operations. I'm not sure if the entire village board shares his concerns , but I'm confident a conversation with myself and town board members would alleviate his concerns. I would have hoped that this would have been his initial step, but apparently not."

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the town has received no communication from Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard or the Greenport village board.

"The town board is always happy to discuss any issue of mutual concern," Russell said. "We have received no request from the mayor or the village board." Meaningful discussion, Russell added, does not start with outreach to the local media.

Additional questions

Robert said he has additional questions for town police during the dispute process, including:

- What is the average seniority level of officers assigned to the village versus other hamlets?

- What percentage of the crime takes place at the corner of Front and Main or Front and 3rd versus the rest of the village?

- What percentage of the policing person-hours are spent in the car versus walking the streets where Greenporters live?

- What are the department’s policies with regard to texting/using smartphones while on duty?

- What is the department’s plan to deal with the small group of individuals on the boardwalk who have grown more aggressive in the harassment of passers-by, particularly in warmer weather months?

"The Village of Greenport is the area’s most ethnically and racially diverse community and we are the region’s economic engine," Roberts wrote. "We pay taxes to the Town of Southold just like everybody else. We deserve equal and adequate police protection."

Moving forward, Roberts said the stipulation agreement outlines a "clear and simple" dispute process. Should the village board agree to vote on a resolution to initiate a dispute, the town and village boards must schedule a joint meeting to discuss the matter within 30 days and, "hopefully, come to a resolution that will protect the needs and interests of all involved. This exercise can only be productive for both boards and their constituencies," Roberts said.

Should Southold Town not participate in a joint meeting, Roberts said, "If the village board were to resolve that the stipulation agreement was not being followed after that discussion, then the case would go to trial. I really don’t think we’d get that far; at leastI hope we wouldn’t. This shouldn’t be such a controversy for the town and village to have an honest discussion and work out our differences."

Both Russell and Flatley said they'd had no request from Roberts for a discussion before the trustee wrote his report to the village board.

Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard was out of town and could not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trustee Julia Robins said she had read the report but had no comment. Greenport Village board members Mary Bess Phillips and Jack Martilotta did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment, but the matter is slated for discussion at this week's Greenport village board work session.

Patch photo hoto of Doug Roberts at the recent Synergy meeting by Lisa Finn.