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The proposed emergency resolution, put forth by two lawmakers from Ramapo and one from Clarkstown, called charges against Michael Sullivan politically motivated and demanded that his suspension be lifted, lohud.com reported.
Not only did it fail to pass, it sparked a round of blame laying in which its backers were accused of not only sticking their noses where they didn’t belong -- but of harboring political motivations as well, the lohud.com story said.
Sullivan, who was present during the proceedings, told lohud.com that while he did not put the legislators up to it, he was still grateful for their support.
The resolution was then lobbed into the court of a legislative committee, the lohud.com reported.
Lohud.com had reported earlier that Sullivan’s lawyer had revealed that the suspension was based on his failure to reassign a sergeant when told to by Supervisor George Hoehmann.
The disciplinary charges also sprung from Sullivan’s comments on social media about a legal case involving a former police officer, that lohud.com article said.
Sullivan started in law enforcement with the New York City Police Department more than three decades ago.
He became a Clarkstown police officer in 1987 and was promoted to sergeant in 1995, working his way up the ladder until he became chief in 2011.
Raymond Laschet, president of the Clarkstown Policemen’s Benevolent Association, has said that the organization was shocked by Sullivan’s suspension.
The organization, he said, “feels he has been a fair and dedicated leader of the largest police department in Rockland County.”
The PBA, in a post on its Facebook page this week, had said it appreciated the legislators supporting Sullivan but wanted "to make it clear to everyone that the county Legislature does not have any legal authority in the disciplinary process in the town of Clarkstown."
The organization encouraged the public to keep up on the Sullivan issue and to attend the next meeting of the Clarkstown Town Board, set for 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, at Town Hall.
To read the lohud.com articles, click here and here.
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