Southampton police protest plan to fire six veteran cops

What is so hard to see here?? This town board should be looking at the way this dept. is (mis)managed by the incompetent Chief Overton. This man has alienated all the surrounding departments and wants to operate as his own island. Unfortunately, the criminal element not only lives in this town, the criminal element visits this town every day from the west, as a part of the "Trade Parade". I'm not saying the tradesmen are all criminals, however there is definitely a portion of this group that has criminal tendencies and see the unprotected properties out here as a source of easy income. What they need to do is get rid of this dinosaur Overton and bring their dept. into the 21st century. There are so many good men and women who work hard to protect the citizens of this town. Why is there a $4.5 Million deficit in such a small dept.?? That is the question and answer we taxpayers need to have the answer to. Bring the manpower up to the appropriate level to properly police this rapidly growing town. The criminal element is HERE. You can't make it not so simply by closing your eyes and saying it is not so.

Age discrimination. I think she will get crushed on this issue. The lawsuites are going to cost a lot more then the difference between a rookie cops and senior cops pay.

They wouldn't have such a HUGE deficit if the cops of Suffolk County didn't get paid so much f'n money in the first place. NYPD makes half of what these overpaid security guards get and most of the NYPD have a much tougher job. With the exception of a handful of bad towns in Suffolk these officers are mostly busting teenagers drinking and hanging out in the park, giving out speeding tickets and arresting drunk drivers.
You hear that? Yeah, that's the rush of the backlash of all the cops I just offended. No offense intended to the actual police officers, this is aimed towards the people who make these decisions. Unfortunately it's the truth and most of the backlash stems from the fact that they KNOW they're getting overpaid and finally the eyes of someone who can make a change have finally opened.

Two word answer... Age Discrimination.. no matter what the town THINKS they can do.... the federal statues will be the final answer... and even if these dummies think they can... and DO terminate these cops... they'll be writing BIG BIG checks out as part of the settlement these guys get in the end! So I have a question.... Do you feel luck punk?"

Wow, is this backward thinking or what? Cut the guys with the years of experience, who know the town and have devoted their working lives to it in favor of young turks who haven't got a clue? What a screwed up concept! These aren't old men either, just too old for the short sighted ageist Kabot. Maybe what Southampton needs is an age and time limit on the town supervisor. The age limit should be set at one year younger than Kabot is and the time limit should be how ever many terms she's served. That way, she can see what it feels like to be discriminated against.

This is why there are hiring freezes on Long Island! Due to the OLD police officers who make themselves permanent structures, sitting on their behinds, riding their cruisers and answering domestic calls.
NYPD gets respect! They do the job for a FRACTION of the pay.
NCPD and SCPD are overpaid rent a cops.

why don't they just do what every other high ranking public official do,retire and get rehired the next day this way they can collect their pension and start off with 1 day one the job

I'm sure the local police union will do the right thing and put benefits, work hours, and pensions on the table to cut costs and allow these officers to stay on the job.

NOT.

They will just milk the taxpayers for all they can until the towns are in bankruptcy, like Vallejo California.

How sick! Why can't the cop be expected to make a decent salary so they can live near the town they serve. If you deprive them of a prosperous future they will make one for themselves via corruption.

good riddens

These actions by the town supervisor appears to be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The local school districts could cut back on pork laden budgets, layoff dozens of middle management assistants and taxes could fall significantly across the whole township. Six less senior officers, being replaced by new ones, will result in a 5 year period of modest savings. And it will make 6 ex-cops very wealthy after their day in court. Look at your tax bills. Where is the majority of your dollars going? I look forward to the forced retirements of the senior teachers with PH.D's who nod off in front of "the children" that they use as their kevlar at every budget vote.

Let me just warn you that there is a major ticket blitz going out there. Launching the boat in hampton bays I seen a cop write at least 15 tickets. Came back to the dock 5hrs later they were still writing tickets. Like a damm pack of wolves waiting for the little deer. Probably be a couple of officers going out on disability from carpal tunnel after the summers over from writing some many tickets. Its hurting out there. Be aware and tell your friends. Actually stay home. Your like a walking cash register to these cops and southhampton town.

ncs wrote:

They wouldn't have such a HUGE deficit if the cops of Suffolk County didn't get paid so much f'n money in the first place. NYPD makes half of what these overpaid security guards get and most of the NYPD have a much tougher job. With the exception of a handful of bad towns in Suffolk these officers are mostly busting teenagers drinking and hanging out in the park, giving out speeding tickets and arresting drunk drivers.
You hear that? Yeah, that's the rush of the backlash of all the cops I just offended. No offense intended to the actual police officers, this is aimed towards the people who make these decisions. Unfortunately it's the truth and most of the backlash stems from the fact that they KNOW they're getting overpaid and finally the eyes of someone who can make a change have finally opened.

You're right, let's cut the pay of the people who are there to help and protect us.

I think the other counties and states where the police are paid less should look into ways to spend more on these people.

People calling 911 for non emergencies, routine traffic stops, and so on, may seem trivial but that one call where it is serious, that makes all the differance.

They put their life on the line every day and people hate them. Someone will get pulled over for speeding and instead of taking responsibility for their own actions, they will blame the cop for not having anything better to do... so lets take the police away and let people decide how fast they feel they should go... well when a kid gets hit because of an abundance of reckless drivers on on the road then the story changes to: why don't we have a bigger budget to get more police to monitor the roads?

No matter what, can't make everyone happy. It's a shame that so many people have such hard feelings towards our police force.

Stupid unions will make doing anything impossible. the police are supposed to serve and protect, not be entitled and elitist.

Just like the Romans paid mercenaries to protect them so goes the USA. Respect for Police is non existent and yet we wail about their salaries and say they should work for the greater public good. Yet the Public throws them away like garbage when they get to old.

Remember NYPD has 2 guys/gals per post unlike the county cops in general. Unlike the CITY now where if you pass a test you get the job the counties still take the best usally for the job. I'm sure those other senior officers with 15+ years will be working extra hard to find a 2nd carrer knowing they will be gone in a few short years which will detract from their abilities at work, but that's only fair.

Really this is a stupid idea and will destroy morale. Wondering if the county forces will try the same thing.

Why would you want to hang around after 20 years? You guys are working for half salary. Twenty years and you get a 50 percent pension. Take the 50 grand a year and start a new career. I do agree that towns have a way of pushing out older cops, so they can hire 2 new ones at the cost of paying a veteran cop. Yea it stinks but thats how a lot of places operate.

Stupid unions will keep any progress from being made. These cops are supposed to be public servants, not lazy entitlement seekers. They are overpaid and overprotected while we foot the bill for little to no service.

taxpayer wrote:

These actions by the town supervisor appears to be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

you appear to be an idiot