Community Corner

East Hampton Responds to Harrington Report

Training but no discipline for Reimondo, Kelly.

 

When the Harrington report was released last month concerning the handling of an investigation by Police Chief Matt Reimondo and Sgt. Garritt Kelly, the big question left unanswered was if the findings warranted any discipline by the Town of East Hampton.

Town Manager Mike Maniscalco has answered that.

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In a letter dated Aug. 13 to town council members, Maniscalco said that after taking significant time to look into the many facets of the Harrington investigation and other information surrounding the events in this important matter, disciplinary action is not warranted given the findings of the report.

, submitted July 18 by Attorney Michael C. Harrington, a partner in the firm Murtha Cullina, cleared Reimondo and Kelly of the main charges but did offer a harsh review of how the investigation was conducted.

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Harrington’s investigation was a result of a complaint by former Town Council Chairwoman Melissa Engel, which centered on an investigation by Kelly into her alleged mishandling of absentee ballots prior to the November 2010 election. The department found no criminal wrongdoing and Engel was later cleared by the State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC) in on March 21, 2012. Her complaint to the town followed on April 5, alleging, among other things, that Reimondo and Kelly acted with malice.

Following release of the Harrington report, Engel notified the town on July 30 that she intends to against it and certain employees.

Maniscalco pointed to “three key findings” in the report as a basis for his decision: that Engel’s rights were not violated; neither the Chief or Kelly violated the East Hampton Code of Ethics; and neither the Chief or Kelly were found to have conducted themselves in a manner unbecoming of an officer.

“These three facts alone clarify that both Chief Reimondo and Sergeant Kelly have done nothing but acted according to the protocol provided,” Maniscalco said in the letter.

However, Maniscalco did go on to say that it is important to maintain professional development and standard operating procedures. Harrington identified five areas for improvement in his report, which Maniscalco broke down into two categories: updating Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and maintaining continual professional development.

Maniscalo referenced two findings by Harrington - the work of Kelly was flawed and the Chief exhibited a lack of supervisory oversight.

“These issues clearly can be attributed to a lack of continual trainings and refresher courses,” he said in the letter.

As a result, Maniscalco is requiring Reimondo and Kelly to attend training “in an effort to address the continued education of our departments.”

Maniscalco also will require the entire police force to attend training on conflict of interest and how best to manage and mitigate those conflicts during an investigation.

A consultant, Attorney Eric Daigle, has also been hired by Reimondo to review the department’s standard operating procedures and to make recommendations with the intent of having a draft to the town council this fiscal year. It was Daigle who conducted the Internal Affairs investigations into Sgt. Michael Green and Officer Hardie Burgin last year.

“It is a good step in ensuring that problems with investigations, their oversight and delegation to other organizations do not occur in the future,” Maniscalco said in the letter.

Maniscalco went on to say that the Harrington investigation pointed out the need to learn and improve and that the required training is an opportunity for East Hampton to have even better officers on the force.

“With the corrective actions already underway and those soon to be implemented we are working to ensure the continued professionalism of our Town Government,” Maniscalco said in the letter. “Moreover, I am positive that our Police Force will continue to serve and protect with the same high quality of service we have come to expect.”

Maniscalco on Tuesday said he hoped the town can put this issue behind it and start moving forward.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said.

 

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