Search For Southampton Village Police Chief Continues

The search for a chief for the Southampton Village Police — the department has been without a permanent chief for nearly a year — will continue, and while village officials say they are getting closer to hiring someone for the role, there are still questions about who, and who is not, on the list of candidates to choose from.

Eight potential candidates took the chief’s test, administered by the Suffolk County Civil Service Department in March, and the results finally came out, revealing that only three of them passed.

That short list includes Southampton Town Police Captain James Kiernan; William J. Hayes, a former chief with the Bedford Police Department in upstate New York; and Chris Broich, a former Southampton Village Police sergeant who was dismissed from the force in 2007.

Over the past few months, many village residents have expressed frustration that it has taken so long to name a new police chief.

Lieutenant Suzanne Hurteau has been serving as acting police chief for nearly a year, replacing Thomas Cummings, who retired in September 2021. Hurteau took the chief’s exam, but her name is not on the list, indicating that she did not pass the test.

Southampton Village Trustee Roy Stevenson serves on the village’s police chief search committee, along with fellow Trustee Robin Brown, who chairs the committee. Brown responded to requests for comments by simply saying, in a text message, that “the matter is under review.”

Stevenson spoke about the process earlier this week.

“We’re extremely happy that the test results have finally come out,” he said. “It took forever, and it was no fault of anyone. It’s just how long it took Civil Service to offer and grade the test.

“Now that we have the results in and know who the pool of eligible candidates are, I’m confident the board will make its decision soon,” he added.

Stevenson pointed out that during the course of the last few months, there has been a change to one seat on the board, with Trustee Bill Manger defeating incumbent Joe McLoughlin in the recent election in June. Because Manger did not participate in previous interviews with potential candidates, he will need to do that now, Stevenson said, which will take some time. But he did not anticipate it would slow the process down much.

“I expect it will happen sooner rather than later,” Stevenson said of hiring a new chief. “Certainly by October.”

Because only three of the potential eight candidates that the village has been considering passed the test — Stevenson declined to name the rest of the candidates — it’s possible that the village could consider hiring someone from a list of candidates who passed an earlier chief’s test that was administered when the police chief position was up for grabs in Westhampton Beach. Kiernan and Broich also passed that test, as did James Strack, Brett Curtis, William Hulse and Richard Smith.

One notable name that is not on the list is Herman Lamison. Lamison is a detective sergeant who has been with the Southampton Village Police since 1985 and is the commanding officer of criminal investigation and juvenile aid services for the department. He is also a graduate of FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, in 2011.

Lamison made it to the final round of interviews when the police chief position was open in 2011 and prepared to take the Civil Service exam but ultimately did not take it that year.

Lamison said earlier this week that he was once again preparing to take the chief’s exam before receiving notice on March 9 from the Civil Service Department that he was not eligible to take the test, because he did not have enough administrative experience.

Mayor Jesse Warren ignored multiple interview requests this week, although on Wednesday morning, after being pressed about why Lamison wasn’t allowed to take the test, sent a text message lashing out at The Southampton Press and placing blame on Civil Service.

“Once again, the Southampton Press has not done its homework,” Warren texted. “The Suffolk County Civil Service Commission administers the exam and the application process while the Village has nothing to do with it. I would encourage the Press to reach out to the Suffolk County Civil Service Commission to ask why they deemed certain candidates to meet the minimum qualifications for the exam while others did not.”

In fact, the village does have something to do with the exam. The village ordered the exam — otherwise, Civil Service would not have offered it. Asked to clarify if the village set the parameters that Civil Service adhered to, Warren ignored the question.

Lamison — who, in addition to serving on the police force for more than 30 years, will be entering his 31st season coaching the Southampton High School boys varsity basketball team this year — used a sports metaphor to describe his reaction to being denied the chance to take the test.

“In basketball terms, I’d say I was boxed out,” he said.

Several Southampton Village residents have made public remarks expressing their desire to see Lamison as the next police chief, and he said many of them— from clergy members to former police chiefs from surrounding towns to school administrators and others — have written letters of support and recommendation and sent them to Southampton Village officials.

Lamison was the first African American hired by the police department and remains the highest-ranking of three Black officers currently on the force.

He expressed frustration at being denied the chance to take the test.

“I stayed on and worked this long for this opportunity, and now that opportunity hasn’t been afforded to me,” he said. “I feel that I do have the necessary qualifications, and in some ways exceed what they’re looking for. My resume is my resume, and it speaks volumes. It’s disheartening in a lot of ways to be excluded from the process.”

Residents who have expressed their support for Lamison have pointed out that he is a longtime community member who intimately knows the town and the people there.

“I love this community,” Lamison said. “I grew up in this community and put a lot of energy both on and off duty into this community, and it actually means something to me personally.”