Hectic Labor Day Weekend Spread East Hampton Police Force Thin

The East Hampton Town Police Department had one of its busiest three-day periods ever over the Labor Day holiday weekend — with some 395 calls for assistance from police between 6 a.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Monday.

The town’s officers responded to an average of 45 calls per eight-hour shift — a rate that Chief Michael Sarlo said leaves the police “spread very thin” and presents challenges in tackling quality-of-life issues.

“The holiday weekend was extremely busy,” the chief said. “The call volume taxes our patrol staffing and leaves little time for proactive enforcement work. Despite being on the run from call to call, our officers still managed to issue a significant amount of citations and spend time in problematic traffic areas. Even with overtime, supplemental shifts and additional officers on all weekend, we get spread very thin.”

Police responded to 54 medical aid cases over the three days, 16 car accidents, made 17 arrests including nine for DWI, and issued 94 citations for vehicle and traffic law violations and other infractions, Sarlo said.

The frantic weekend capped off a busy summer that saw the department answer more than 8,200 calls, including more than 1,000 medical aid cases and 395 motor vehicle accidents. Officers made 245 arrests between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day, including 77 DWI, handed out 2,528 citations and responded to 485 residential noise complaints.

“It shows just how busy, how extraordinarily busy our East Hampton Town Police Department is,” Councilwoman Kathee Burke Gonzalez said, “As are our other enforcement agencies.”