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As the Sun Went Down

Thu, 05/23/2019 - 07:22



There were no arrests made by either the East Hampton Town or Village Police Departments on drunken-driving charges this past week. There was one such arrest in Sag Harbor, which took place as the sun went down on Halloween.

Sag Harbor Village police stopped Michael Beckman, 69, at about 5:30 p.m., saying his 2005 Mercedes Benz convertible had gone through a red light at the intersection of Main Street and Brick Kiln Road. He was pulled over by the Getty gas station and reportedly performed poorly on field sobriety tests. Back at police headquarters, on the advice of his attorney, Edward Burke Jr., he did not submit to a chemical test. Mr. Beckman was held overnight and arraigned Saturday on a misdemeanor charge of charge of driving while intoxicated.

In East Hampton Town, the number of arrests of all types are down this year from last. From Jan. 1 to Nov. 3, 2013, there were 757 arrests recorded; for 2014, the number is 623, a decrease of almost 18 percent.

The number of event calls, however, is up, from 15,962 last year to 16,807 so far this year, an increase of 5 percent. Michael D. Sarlo, the department’s chief, reflected on the diverging numbers in an email yesterday. With officers pressed by the increasing volume of calls, the time to do the kind of police work that results in arrests, such as on D.W.I. charges, can decrease, he said.

There are other factors as well. “We had four new detectives promoted,” he said, “replacing retirees and [other] promotions. Those promoted were four of our most productive patrol officers. They are replaced, in a staggered hiring plan, by rookies, who must field-train and ride in a double car for 160 hours.”

Chief Sarlo also noted that the department had lost one officer to budget cuts.

 

On the Police Logs 07.17.25

A man “with white hair and a blue jacket” took another patron’s phone during a movie at the Regal Cinema and said he would not return it. He later told police he’d taken the phone to “make a stand” because the owner was talking loudly on it during the movie.

Jul 17, 2025

Found With Coke in Cars

Two drivers were charged last week in unrelated cases with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance after East Hampton Town police found bags containing a “white rock-like substance” in their vehicles.

Jul 17, 2025

Overturned by the Overlook

A Brooklyn man was arraigned recently on multiple misdemeanor charges related to a May 25 accident that injured four passengers in his Mercedes S.U.V., according to police.

Jul 17, 2025

Combs Verdict on Trafficking Is Examined

To Cate Carbonaro, executive director of the East Hampton advocacy organization the Retreat, who has worked extensively with victims of sex and labor trafficking as a public defender, the split verdict in the federal criminal trial of Sean (Diddy) Combs presents a “stark reminder of how far we still have to go” to educate both the courts and the public about what the “often misunderstood” charge of sex trafficking really means.

Jul 10, 2025

 

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