A hearing officer will weigh testimony from village and
suspended cop
By Christopher Walsh
The East Hampton
Village Board on Thursday announced the appointment of an independent hearing
officer to hear disciplinary charges against Julio Galeano, a village police
officer who was suspended without pay on Feb. 21 after an alleged romantic encounter
in December with another member of the department at a house in which neither
had permission to be.
The board's Feb.
21 action followed its approval of new legislation on police discipline that
bypasses the previous process, which had been negotiated with the East Hampton
Village Police Benevolent Association. The new legislation does away with the
arbitration procedures previously required and provides for dismissal as an
option.
On Dec. 30,
Officer Galeano was allegedly discovered at a house on Talmage Lane with a
traffic control officer, Jennifer Rosa, who was reported to have a key to the
house because she had worked there as a cleaner. The house's owner was not
there, but guests that were authorized to enter and stay at the house discovered
the pair and called the police. Ms. Rosa was fired from her job with the
Village Police Department in January. Officer Galeano's gun and badge had
already been confiscated when Chief Gerard Larsen brought disciplinary charged
against him on Feb. 11. He was at first dismissed with pay. Officer Galeano has
denied the charges against him.
The hearing
officer, John G. Callahan, an attorney, will listen to comments and testimony
from both sides and will issue a recommendation to the village for the appropriate
disciplinary action. A date and location for the proceedings has not yet been
determined.