East Hampton, Chief Reimondo, to Respond May 1 to Engel Lawsuit

A federal judge has granted East Hampton and its acting police chief, Matthew Reimondo, a 30-day extension to respond to a lawsuit filed by former Town Council Republican Melissa Engel. 

Reimondo and the town must respond by May 1 under the court's new scheduling order. 

"This extension of time is necessary in order to allow the (defendants) to investigate the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint, and to prepare a response, as the undersigned was just recently retained to defend this case," a lawyer for all the defendants in the lawsuit, including former Sgt. Garritt Kelly, said in his request for the extension. 

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Engel, who formerly chaired the Town Council, filed her lawsuit in March , alleging that Reimondo, Kelly and the town violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and that Reimondo sought a “malicious prosecution” against her after she sought to eliminate the chief’s position and restructure the police department to save the town money.

Engel also alleges in her lawsuit that Reimondo, Kelly and the town violated her rights of free speech and assembly by refusing to provide police protection to quell disruptions at Town Council meetings and by allowing trespassers to enter her property.

• You can read the original story on that lawsuit here.