Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg last week confirmed that his office is looking into multiple complaints against Saugerties Police Department (SPD) officer Dion Johnson, including allegations of harassment and sexual assault at the behest of town officials.
“The Saugerties Town Board has requested the attorney’s office conduct an investigation into the matter,” Clegg said in an e-mail to Hudson Valley One. “We have agreed to do so.” Clegg added that it is not his office’s policy to discuss investigations.
Allegations against Johnson were detailed in a 14-page report by New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEMIO). Published on Friday, July 7, the report maintains that the SPD referred complaints made against Johnson to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) as required by law enforcement agencies for any officer receiving at least five complaints in a two-year period, and that after a thorough investigation, LEMIO concluded that Johnson was subject to disciplinary action by the SPD as a result of his alleged misconduct.
According to LEMIO, after allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct by an anonymous member of the public and two female SPD officers, the SPD suspended Johnson for ten days and placed him on probation for one year; LEMIO recommended that the SPD go much further, terminating Johnson’s employment and updating its own policies and practices regarding sexual misconduct and internal personnel investigations.
Johnson’s prior history with the Albany Police Department (APD), where he worked before to coming to Saugerties, was also reviewed by LEMIO. The report found that the SPD was not made fully aware of allegations that Johnson made untruthful statements about overtime eligibility between January and February 2020 while at the APD.
Saugerties Police Chief Joe Sinagra was placed on paid administrative leave by the Town Board during an emergency meeting held on Wednesday, July 26. Former town police chief Lou Barbaria, who last served in the role in 2012 prior to the merger of the town and village departments, has been hired as interim chief.
Councilwoman Leanne Thornton said the LEMIO report was a primary motivator for Sinagra’s suspension.
“It’s very disappointing to know that it’s come to this, but after the attorney general’s report came out, it basically led to a lot of questions for us as a board,” she said. “And we’ve had multiple meetings to discuss options with our attorneys. This just seemed, until we get clarification on all of the specifics that are involved with the case, that this was the best course of action to take so that there would be, let’s say not a police department in turmoil, but that it would be the best thing to do.”
Following his suspension, the Town Board voted to do what Sinagra would not: Seek assistance from the Ulster County DA.
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