Sag Harbor Police Chief Retiring, Charges Dropped

Village of Sag Harbor officials have struck a deal in which its village police chief will retire in exchange for the village dropping administrative charges that were filed against the chief.

The village board had suspended Chief Austin McGuire for 30 days in December after Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella filed 32 disciplinary charges of misconduct and incompetence against the chief, who had been on leave for months. His last day will be March 29 following a stint that began in 2017.

Lt. Robert Drake, who has been leading the police department in McGuire’s absence, is expected to be named acting chief, but must pass the civil service exam for the position before he can be permanently hired.

The incident comes as a Southold Town Police sergeant recently filed a lawsuit against the town claiming that officials waited too long to take disciplinary action against officers in that department following allegations that officers ignored complaints that a police retirement party violated social distancing mandates at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.