The use of seized assets and the selection of a police commissioner were the focus of disagreement during the July 3 meeting of New Paltz’s town board.
Chief Matthew Sutton wants to use up to $30,000 in seized assets to purchase new firearms and ammunition (most of it for target practice) to replace worn-out gear. Assets that are seized include cash and cars that are proven linked to drug dealing. There are federal limits on what this money can be used to purchase. For the particular use, the chief needs to secure permission from the town board
This matter had been adjourned earlier so the town board could better understand what was to be purchased.
Councilmembers Edgar Rodriguez and Esi Lewis didn’t want to discuss the proposal because Sutton had not attended the most recent meeting of the police commission and could not have been asked questions there. Their concern was that it was hasty for a decision to be made without first getting an assessment from the police commission. Rodriguez sought to get a legal determination as to whether it was appropriate even to decide this question without hearing from the police commissioners first. He even threatened to take legal action if this transaction was approved
The other members found the chief’s written explanation sufficient, and approved the purchase.
New commissioner
Later on, a vote to add a new police commissioner was unsuccessful. During the meeting, Fawn Tantillo and Tara Fitzpatrick were interviewed, and after an executive session lasting close to an hour and a half a
motion was made to appoint Tantillo. Rodriguez and Lewis were opposed, and town supervisor Amanda Gotto abstained.
During her interview, Tantillo spoke about her experience as a county legislator and chair of the committee overseeing law enforcement. Fitzpatrick, one of several commissioners dismissed in writing earlier this year without prior feedback from the town board, highlighted his experiences as a nurse caring for victims of abuse and navigating the competing interests of public safety and personal privacy. The reasons for the mass dismissal have not been disclosed publicly, but Fitzpatrick and others were invited to reapply after the revision of the town law about the police commission. That work is ongoing.
When the motion to appoint Tantillo was made, Lewis and Rodriguez were opposed in part because they favored more time for additional candidate interviews. Randall Leverette and Kitty Brown voted in favor, but Gotto abstained. Leverette and Brown claimed that abstaining without providing a reason was not an option.
This view is not clearly supported in opinions from the Committee on Open Government, which in several opinions has decided that court decisions establish that abstentions are deemed negative votes. Those same opinions lay out no conditions for abstaining. Recusal is understood as necessary if there is a conflict of interest.
Gotto said she was not interested in dealing with the matter at that time.
Support for indicted officer
Several friends and family members of indicted town police officer Jerome Milton attended the July 3 town council meeting to support him. Milton has been accused of stalking a former romantic partner and issuing a fraudulent ticket for her new partner.
Some of the group of supporters spoke. Alfa Miller cited Milton’s good character. Jaida Elder noted that the vetting process for officers is already indicative of how they were held to a high standard. Shawn Merritt-Scott expressed that other officers accused of more serious charges had later been reinstated.
Council member Kitty Brown assured the group that the standard of innocence until guilt was proven will be upheld.
Earlier in the meeting, resident Diana Armstead encouraged board members to make a statement regarding the situation in order to “quell some talk,” noting that an online news source had attempted to get additional information from town officials.
Chief Sutton released a statement about taking the allegations seriously. Typically, attorneys advise not making detailed comments during an investigation. The initial report of the allegations to the district attorney came from the town police department.
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