Dan's Papers - August 28, 2009 - Chief of Hearsay Beach

[SCENE] Open-Westhampton Beach Police Chief Raymond Dean guardedly strolls down Main St. Knowing all too well there are those out to get him at every turn, he is prepared to defend himself at a moment's notice. Suddenly, former Deputy Mayor Jim Kametler jumps out from behind the saloon doors! But the wily Dean is ready for him, and reaches for his...lawyer?

Maybe. But that's where we're at these days as the current PD chief of WHB, Raymond Dean. He's still the top cop in town even though his contract had expired on December 31, 2008. But since the town's board of trustees attempted to recover over 400 hours of compensatory time from him, a new contract and past accruement seem firmly lodged up in the air.

It was May 27-the board held an executive session. Meeting behind closed doors, the group decided the chief's former deal wasn't "binding and enforceable," a motion which would allow them to enforce the stipulation in Dean's contract that stops compensatory accrual time at 200 hours-an agreement somehow overlooked as he had at one point almost 600 hours total. Nonetheless, the motion was soon rescinded once it was realized that their private actions were in violation of New York State's Open Meetings Law. However, a new plan of attack came in the June 4 resolution, directing Village Clerk Kathy McGinnis to calculate all the chief's time earned-a task now completed as that breakdown is already in the hands of Westhampton Beach's labor counsel.

However, those hours still belong to Dean, a protected civil servant employee. According to his contract, he receives sick and compensatory time in place of overtime pay. His attorney, Michael Axelrod (of Certilman, Balin, Adler and Hyman, LLP) has stated publicly: "[Dean's] claim is that his contract is valid and that they cannot take unilateral steps to void his contract or remove items from him..." Furthermore, while he has not signed or agreed to a new deal, he is still legally the Westhampton Police Chief. A clause in his former agreement states that his former contract is in effect until a succeeding bond has been executed.

The parties involved haven't been especially talkative to the press concerning this situation, likely heading for Suffolk County Supreme Court at a future date. Meanwhile, Chief Dean has been using those hours ever since it was pointed out to him he had them. The Press has reported that has only about 200 hours to go. Regardless, the board has expressed publicly that they want him to give up the time he has left and furthermore, take away some of his accrued sick and vacation days to make up the difference.

Raymond Dean's expired-yet agreed to-contract says that it remains in effect until there's a new one. It also stated that he was to be limited to 200 hours of compensatory time, yet he was informed by the people who pay it that he had accrued 600. He's been using it and his usage has been honored. So what did Ray Dean do to end up in this SNAFU?

Type "Westhampton Police Chief Raymond Dean" into a Google search engine and immediately there are entries concerning his $149,624 base salary, which, with benefits, comes out to $188,709.60-more than New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly who tops out at $9.60 less. The obvious angle does seem off. WHB lists its entire roster, including the chief, at around 20, while the NYPD has about 40,000 authorized uniformed representatives (not including almost 13,000 auxiliary officers, school safety and traffic enforcement agents and supervisors). But Quogue Village Police Chief Robert Coughlan combines a base salary of $153,449.16 with benefits to land a total of $182,084.27 annually. Sag Harbor Police Chief Thomas Fabiano totals in at $175,785. East Hampton Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen and Southampton Village Police Chief William Wilson both clear a complete yearly salary over $200,000. And while smaller village PD chiefs on the East End are all making over $175K, chiefs in areas like Rockland County's Clarkstown, while larger than WHB but with only 173 PD members, earn a salary over $300,000, with 50 cops who each average almost $200,000 annually themselves.

So by comparison, it doesn't seem this is a source for heat on Dean. But to see the drama that continues to unfold, check the blogs sourced right inside WHB itself. The fascinating soap opera that occurs online concerning doings among the 1,900+ people who populate the town is rich with hearsay, jabs, outright slams and potential slander-with much of it done by a group of energetic yet anonymous posters. Many communities have blogs, but locally few can claim this sort of intensity anywhere on Long Island.

Nameless residents talk of a sour relationship that's stood between Chief Dean and former Deputy Mayor Kametler-a trustee who was once a Westhampton Police Officer himself. Sort through actual police documents posted on the "On The Beach Blog." You'll learn that Kametler was cited for failure to report to duty in 2001. He was accused of misusing police technology in 2003 by making an improper inquiry. Dean, who chief then too, issued Kametler disciplinary action for that infraction and deducted five sick days (interesting, no?). He also noted that the then-officer Kametler was filing "for retirement, and will be leaving this agency..."

Fast-forward to February 2007, where another incident involving the Kametler becomes fodder for the suspicious and suggestive. Again, according to an actual police report posted on the OTBB site, Lieutenant Trevor Gonce-who has since been demoted to sergeant by the Village Board-arrived in Kametler's neighborhood to answer a call concerning shots fired. While checking the area, Kametler (then Deputy Mayor) flagged down the officer to tell him that he had fired his licensed gun, shooting a "rabid opossum" five times...without killing it. Gonce states in the document that, in spite of violating three penal codes, he didn't arrest Kametler "out of [his] concern of retribution due to the fact of his capacity of Deputy Mayor of Westhampton Beach." Charges were never filed, but Gonce's comments could be interpreted as suggestive that Kamelter may be someone capable of vengeance-again, pure speculation.

Then, during the June 7, 2007 Board of Trustees regular meeting, the subject was raised by another former Westhampton Beach Deputy Mayor, Tim Laube. He noted that Chief Dean was in the room and asked him if a licensed pistol holder can shoot a potential rabid wild animal in his backyard. Dean told Laube that the correct procedure is to call the police, who would then call animal control, who would handle the situation as necessary-that one cannot fire his weapon in his backyard.

Notably, one person who has supported Dean thoroughly is WHB Mayor Conrad Teller. Once the village Police Chief himself, Teller has defended Dean's right to the current paid salary to the press, and abstained from the public June 4 vote held by the trustees to track Dean's compensatory hours for legal purposes. And although there is no evidence to confirm any particular reasoning behind the decision, as of July 8 Teller decided to remove Jim Kametler from his position as deputy mayor, citing "personal reasons."

The new DM? Trustee Toni-Jo Birk-a woman who just so happens to serve as a liaison to the police department. Any thoughts on this one bloggers?

Here's the latest update: In early July, Dean through his attorney filed a notice of claim, against the WesthamptonBeach Village Trustees. A claim is the first step of a lawsuit. But earlier this month, Axelrod witdrew Dean's claim. And just a week ago, the Village Board offered Dean a "letter of agreement" to continue on as chief, rather than a contract. A letter of agreement would allow the Village more control over Deans comings and goings. Needless to say, he and his attorney have rejected that offer.