Southampton Village Police Chief Debate May Stretch to Summer

The heated debate over who should be named the next chief of the Southampton Village Police Department may not conclude until months after the March 25 civil service exam for candidates applying to the job.

The police department has had an acting chief since its former longtime chief Thomas Cummings quit in September 2021 following an unusually public feud with Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren. The village board — all but Warren — voted in December to hire Suffolk County Police Deputy Commissioner Anthony Carter as a replacement, contingent upon his passing the exam, but the would-be chief quit after the mayor publicly criticized him, too.

“We’re going to have to choose from the top three,” Warren said, noting that the village is bound by New York State civil service law in its hiring process. He called the job “one of the most important appointments the village board can make.”

Results of civil service exams generally take between three and four months to be released, which means Southampton village leaders won’t know the names of the top three candidates for the next police chief until June or July. Then come contract negotiations, which have been among Warren’s concerns.

The Southampton Village Police Department has about 30 sworn members patrolling a 7.4-square-mile municipality that is home to more than 4,500 residents, making it the largest of the six village police departments across the Twin Forks.