Cop Critics Renew Call

Robert Cooper and Elaine and Todd Jones have taken their call for an independent investigation of the East Hampton Town Police Department to higher authorities.

Armed with the complaints and cases of 22 people who say they have been improperly treated by the police force, Mr. Cooper and company are seeking to focus state, even national scrutiny on the department's practices.

Mr. Cooper and the Jones family have packaged the complaints and sent them out to the State Division of Criminal Justice, the New York State Attorney General, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Eastern District and Civil Rights Division.

January Mailing

"We intend not to allow this to be stalled any longer," stated Mrs. Jones in a letter accompanying the Jan. 27 mailing. "It is the feeling of many people that we go to Washington on a bus to address our concerns, because no one in New York State seems to care."

The mailing consisted of a box of manila file folders, each documenting a separate case and containing newspaper articles, official civilian complaints, and other documents critical of the force.

In a cover letter drafted by Mr. Cooper, the former Town Councilman, himself a retired town police detective, renews his call for an investigation and urges the state not to renew the department's accreditation.

Renews Police Criticism

The East Hampton Town Police Department was the first on Long Island to be accredited, under a 1992 state initiative aimed at "professionalizing" local forces. Because the department successfully met a long list of state guidelines, the town is eligible for a discount on police liability insurance.

The state accreditation expires on March 12 and is up for renewal.

"This town and this government have to wake up to the fact there are people out there that have legitimate complaints that are not being heard," wrote Mr. Cooper. "My call for an independent investigation still stands as if it was made yesterday."

Todd Jones's Case

In 1994, while Mr. Cooper was on the Town Board, he made his concerns about the Police Department public, generating a maelstrom that ended in three lawsuits and raised public suspicions about the police.

The case of Todd Jones helped plant the seed.

Mr. Jones was accused of running an automobile chop-shop after an August 1993 raid on his parents' Amagansett property. Mr. Jones and his mother, Elaine Jones, blasted the police afterward for what they called an improper, illegal search.

All the charges against Mr. Jones were eventually thrown out after a well-publicized trial, prompting the Jones family to file a $92-million lawsuit against the town.

Amid the publicity of the Jones/Cooper saga, Town Police Chief Thomas Scott asked the County Public Integrity Bureau to conduct an investigation.

County Investigation

After spending six months on it, the Suffolk District Attorney's office decided there was "insufficient evidence" of any misconduct within the department.

Mr. Cooper and the Jones family were critical of the way the investigation was handled. Complaints about the probe are included in the Jan. 27 mailing to the state.

"The county had its opportunityand they said I wasn't credible and Todd Jones wasn't credible," Mr. Cooper said. "Now, it's not the Todd Joneses and Bob Coopers, but everyday people trying to make a living . . . Before, the complaints were stray ones that dribbled in. Now, it's 22, 23 people that are all saying they have complaints."

"You have to honor the numbers."

"Constitutional Rights"

Asked if any thread tied the individual complaints together, Mr. Cooper said, "There's no respect for people's constitutional rights."

If the Criminal Justice Department does not take any action, he said, "We'll take it to the White House if necessary, we'll make it a national issue if we have to . . . until it's done."

Chief Scott said yesterday he had not heard of the mailing, and thus it was "very difficult to comment." He offered, however, that aside from the Public Integrity investigation, Todd Jones had already brought complaints to numerous agencies, including the Attorney General's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"We've been pretty well investigated and we've come out with no problems," the chief said. "I can't see that they have anything new to add."

Twenty Folders

Apart from the details on the Jones and Cooper matters, the box of folders contains complaints about the accreditation procedure, and 20 individual cases involving criticism of the department in the past several years. They include:

Julio and Diana Vasquez: Julio Vasquez sued the town claiming he was harassed and his Jeep confiscated as part of the Todd Jones investigation.

Frances and Judah Johns: Frances Johns filed suit following a burglary investigation in which, she claimed, police entered her house without permission and improperly questioned her son.

Alcibiades German: Now deceased. Had been an informant and was allegedly threatened for refusing to cooperate further, then arrested by the East End Drug Task Force.

Greg Monaco: Claimed he was beaten by a town police officer during a 1993 interrogation.

More Cases

Also:

Benjamin Schwartz: Acquitted of harassment charges, after which he filed a complaint alleging racism.

Kent Gaugler: In Public Integrity Bureau testimony, he alleged his ex-wife, "with policemen from East Hampton," robbed his house while he was in jail.

Julia Bifulco: Springs teen's family accused police of intimidating, and coercing a confession from her, though she was innocent. The charges against her were dismissed.

Allison Collins: Arrested and charged with assault the day after an altercation. Found not guilty on self-defense grounds.

Patricia Shaw: Complained about police handling of the arrest of Orlando Vera, a man charged with harassing her daughter in Amagansett.

Colleen Herrera: Complained about department's handling of a sexual assault she reported.

Allen Gregg: Charges of injuring a 4-year-old child were dismissed in Town Justice Court.

Still More

And:

Jack Ciancimino: Sued the town for malicious prosecution after being acquitted of menacing.

Kathy Gray: Her 11-year-old son was hit by a car while on in-line skates. She complained there was no police prosecution, though the driver was identified.

Joanne Havens-Gant: Filed a complaint about a police search of her son's room and later complained the police would not give her or her lawyer a copy of the complaint.

Renee Dunn: Filed a complaint that she was threatened during an interrogation and coerced into making a statement.

Eileen Oliver: Complained she was arrested for assault, while police refused to hear her side of the story.

Stuart Vorpahl: Complained about improper reporting of an accident several years ago involving his daughter, Susan Vorpahl.