No Misconduct By Southampton Police Officer, Defendant's Constitutional Rights Not Violated: Judge

SOUTHAMPTON, NY - There was no misconduct on the part of any Southampton Town police officer in the arrest of a defendant charged with drug offenses in 2011, a judge said recently.

The Town of Southampton was successful in a recent trial before the Honorable Leonard Wexler, United States District Court Judge, regarding the alleged false arrest, malicious prosecution, and unlawful search of Plaintiff Bernard Cooks pursuant to a January 2011 arrest by the Southampton Town Police Department, a release by Southampton Town said Monday.

"After a full trial, Judge Wexler determined that the Southampton Town police and, in particular, Police Officer Eric Sickles, had more than sufficient evidence to support probable cause to arrest and prosecute Mr. Cooks for possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell, possession of marijuana, criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, and false impersonation," the release said.

The judge further determined that there was no misconduct on the part of any town police officer, including Officer Sickles, involved in the arrest and prosecution of Cooks; in addition, the court found that Cooks’ constitutional rights were not violated, the release said.

In May, 2012, the sentences of Bernard Cooks and Riverside resident Mohammed Proctor were vacated by Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota after his office came across information which affected the credibility of an officer initially unnamed by the D.A..

Proctor filed a lawsuit in 2010 seeking $50 million in damages, naming the members of the now-disbanded Southampton Police street crimes unit, including Sgt. James Kiernan, Officer Sickles and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Heffernan.

The Southampon Police Department made headlines in 2012 following Kiernan's suspension.

Proctor's case alleged that evidence in the case was illegally obtained, and alleged that he was forced to sign a false confession statement.

At the time, Spota's spokesman Robert Clifford said, "The allegations in the civil lawsuit are baseless."

In 2013, the Southampton Town Board unanimously ratified a stipulation of settlement with suspended town police officer Sickles, which allowed the embattled officer to return to work after a suspension.

Sickles was at the center of the controversy that also led to his commanding officer's suspension, plus a district attorney's office review of more than 100 criminal cases — a review that resulted in at least three men's convictions being thrown out.

Officer Eric Sickles was suspended by town board action on July 10, 2012, after spending several months on medical leave related to a dependency he developed to prescription painkillers. Departmental charges accusedSickles of working under the influence of a controlled substance between January 2010 and December 2011, sleeping on duty and allegedly failing to be fit for duty.

According to police documents and depositions, after an off-duty injury, in late 2010 Sickles began taking oxycodone for pain and to help him sleep, and eventually began taking prescriptions for depression, anxiety and sleep apnea. Sickles said that in the summer of 2011 he tried to wean himself off his pain medication, but realized he could not “due to physical dependency issues.”

Then in October 2011, Sickles' wife reportedly contacted his commanding officer, Lt. James Kiernan, to say her husband had fallen asleep at their kitchen table while putting away his gun, and that he had a pattern of falling asleep related to his use of prescription medication — to the point that she did not let him drive with their children.

Sickles was a member of the Southampton Town Police Department's now-defunct Street Crime Unit, which conducted undercover drug investigations.

Then-Police Chief William Wilson said he was first informed of Sickles' addiction in December 2011, and he immediately had Sickles placed in a rehab program and put him on leave.

Wilson has said that he believes the police department failed Sickles, who he said struggled with addiction at the time.

Wilson initiated a probe by Suffolk County Police Department internal affairs investigators into who knew what about Sickles, and when, and whether Sickles was allowed to work when it should have been obvious he was unfit for duty. Statements from various officers and supervisors conflicted on a number of key points.

Kiernan was suspended for six months before the town board reinstated him, over Wilson's objections, on Nov. 1, 2012. Wilson said he also believed that then-Lt. Robert Pearce should have been disciplined for his handling of the matter, but Pearce was never suspended. Pearce was promoted to captain, also over Wilson's objections, and when Wilson retired, the town board named Pearce to replace him.

Pearce is set to retire this month, but will remain at his post until September, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman has said.

According to past town board resolutions, Sickles was appointed a part-time police officer in September 1998, though he did not officially begin until completing the Suffolk County Police Academy. In September 2000, he was appointed a full-time officer and was reinstated in 2013.

And most recently, in May, 2016, Sickles was honored for saving a life:

According to Southampton Town Police, the save took place on May 1 at 6:15 a.m., when police received a 911 call regarding a male subject, unresponsive due to a possible overdose.

Southampton Police Officer Vincent Cagno and Officer Sickles responded to the residence, located in Flanders, and found that the male victim was unconscious and not breathing, police said.

Officers administered Narcan to the victim and performed rescue breathing as Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Inc. also arrived, police siad.