A judge has denied Woodstock’s motion to dismiss part-time police officer Philip Sinagra’s lawsuit against the town to stop disciplinary action against him. In his May 22 ruling, Ulster County Supreme Court judge David Gandin did not agree with the town’s assertion that all administrative avenues had to be explored before judicial intervention.
“Notably, in their motion seeking dismissal, respondents are not asserting that an issue of fact exists about when they obtained knowledge of the facts underlying the disciplinary charges,” Gandin wrote in his three-page denial.
Gandin, however, also ruled that Sinagra’s claims of irreparable harm from reputational damage and having to incur legal fees were “conclusory and speculative.”
The town has 20 days from the May 22 ruling to respond. This time, it will challenge Sinagra’s claims the town failed to bring charges in a timely manner, according to town supervisor Bill McKenna.
Sinagra has been the subject of legal action after a complaint was filed by four police officers and a former dispatcher alleging he regularly made racist and sexually inappropriate comments to department personnel. One officer withdrew from the complaint. The remaining three officers and former dispatcher accepted a $70,000 settlement in January.
Sinagra claims the allegations against him were in retaliation against reforms he was making as part of his work to get the police department accredited.
Sinagra was placed on paid administrative leave May 16, 2023 until November 22, 2024, when McKenna ordered him to return to work. He is not permitted to enter the police station.
At first, he was ordered to pick up trash and enforce the Comeau preserve leash law, but he was soon relegated to an office on the otherwise vacant second floor of 45 Comeau Drive, where he reports on Fridays and sits at a desk with no duties.
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