In 2023, the East Hampton Town Police Department made 163 drunken-driving arrests, the most in a single year since 2019, when 123 were so charged. The department received about 20,000 calls in all, resulting in 592 arrests, and investigated 1,551 alarms, false or otherwise. Officers assisted on 2,530 medical calls and nearly 1,800 fire-related emergencies.
There were 2,352 hang-ups recorded by dispatchers manning the 911 line; 12 "use of force" incidents, and three civilian complaints over the 12-month period. For calls classified as "highest priority," the department's average response time was 5 minutes, 38 seconds.
Those were just a few of the statistics presented by Chief Michael Sarlo to the East Hampton Town Board last week, capping off a year of protecting 70 square miles from Wainscott to Montauk.
"Overall, cases remain steady . . . Nothing spiked this year in an area where we feel a specific concern," said the chief, broadly referencing crimes such as stolen cars (there were eight, down from 12); burglaries (also eight, down from 11); sex offenses (eight, down from 20); larcenies (114, down from 166); identity theft and fraud (76, down from 141), and criminal mischief (49, down from 64).
He recapped several high-profile incidents, including the detective division's dogged work making an arrest in the antisemitic vandalism case in Montauk, which is being prosecuted by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.
On assignment for Squad One, which protects the easternmost tip of the town, Officer Robbie Stone arrested a man walking on Three Mile Harbor Road "firing what appeared to be a firearm in the air," Chief Sarlo said. "He took the subject into custody safely and quickly without putting anyone else in the public at risk . . . That situation could have gone sideways and been bad for a lot of people involved. It was an Airsoft type of gun, but people in the public don't know that and our officers didn't know that. He did a tremendous job."
On assignment for Squad Five, which covers Northwest Woods, eastern Sag Harbor, Wainscott, and unincorporated East Hampton Town, handling about one-third of all calls in 2023, Officer Steven Piazza demonstrated superb police work in a situation involving an emotionally disturbed, armed person who had fled into the woods.
"He found the subject in a secluded, wooded area, and the subject drew a weapon on [him] directly," Chief Sarlo related. "His ability to calmly defuse the situation, and take the situation under control with no harm to anybody involved, was extremely professional. It's de-escalation. It's everything we train our officers to do."
Indeed, the department regularly exceeded state requirements for training, with the 65-member police force collectively logging 8,104 hours in 12 months.
Also last year, town police began using body cameras, which the chief said help officers to operate with transparency and accountability. The cameras have boosted the department's ability to provide evidence to the court system as well. Chief Sarlo thanked the East Hampton Town Board for funding this initiative.
"Being able to go back to that evidence and see it clearly in real time and understand how that interaction went down takes away the 'he said, she said' aspect of making a complaint," he said, later adding, "I want to remind everybody in the public" that the state's Freedom of Information Law applies. "It's accessible, it's out there, it's FOIL-able. The data and the images are very compelling."
In 2024, Chief Sarlo said, the department is looking to replace at least four officers who have retired or gone on disability. From among the most recent Civil Service exam-takers, he expects to place five or six candidates in the County Police Academy for future assignments in East Hampton Town.
Also this year — hopefully before the start of May, Chief Sarlo said — the department will implement a new "computer-aided" system for managing records and dispatching, following a competitive bidding process. "Our previous one was 20 some-odd years old and had reached its end of life. Our vendor was no longer supporting it, and there was really no compatible project from them to roll into. They're building this tailored to our needs."
The department is also reinstating its Civilian Police Academy, a program it hasn't operated in about 20 years. "We continue to build bridges with the community through this. . . . It's extremely interesting, and people usually walk away with a tremendous appreciation of the training and investment and professionalism of our department," Chief Sarlo said. "We also take a lot away from the questions and feedback we get from the community members who join us in this."
The town board applauded the department's service to the town. "They go above and beyond in serving this community," said Councilman Tom Flight.
The annual report can be seen on the police department website, ehamptonny.gov/193/Police.