It’s been said many times the being a police officer isn’t just a job, but a calling. Of course, that doesn’t mean that cops don’t have families to feed. Just ask Westhampton Beach Chief Raymond Dean.
From Newsday :
From Newsday :
Westhampton Beach Police Chief Raymond Dean makes $188,709 a year, is given a car for his work and personal use, and he wants more.
Some trustees of the 2.9-square-mile village on the South Fork are not so sure. They’re expected to discuss Dean’s contract – as well as 583 hours in compensatory time he accrued – at a meeting at 7 Thursday in Village Hall.
If Dean gets a raise of any kind – a village official says there is a 7.9 percent raise in his contract – Dean would make more than New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who oversees the largest police department in the country. Kelly makes $189,700, said his spokesman, Paul Browne.
In case you aren’t familiar with Westhampton Beach, that 2.9-square-mile description fails to do it justice. That’s 2.9 of the roughest, toughest Hamptons miles you’ll ever see. I can’t begin to describe how the Mercedes and Porsches whiz along Dune Road, sometimes going 40 on the 30 mile per hour road. It’s a war zone.
It’s not easy being Chief Dean. And yes, that certainly looks like a Rolex on his wrist. But not a new one. And clearly not a Daytona. One of the lesser models. In Westhampton Beach, that’s humiliating.But comparisons between Chief Dean and NYPD Chief Ray Kelly are just unfair. After all, Kelly has about 35,000 people in his department. Dean has about 21.
Last year, there were 116,824 serious crimes reported in New York City – a historic low, Browne said. By comparison, there were 43 serious crimes, including robbery and aggravated assault, reported in Westhampton Beach, according to state criminal justice statistics.When you break the hundred thou mark, you have mechanisms in place to keep track of all that serious crime. When it’s a mere 43 crimes, you have to do it all in your head. Need I tell you what a headache a Chief can get from having to remember that many things? Seriously, I don’t know how he does it.
The good news is that Board of Trustees of the Village of Westhampton Beach has now resolved to declare Chief Raymond Dean’s contract “invalid and unenforceable.” How exactly that works is unclear, given that even baby government’s can’t abrogate contractual obligations at will. I expect that the Village attorney, Herman J (Bo) Bishop, will have a brilliant scheme whereby they can do any darn thing they want. Frankly, if he’s got a lawful way to pull this off, I would be most impressed.
But there’s still one question that remains unanswered. How in the world did these dedicated public servants get themselves in this position in the first place, giving the Chief a deal that would make a Saudi prince blush?
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I dunno. Maybe, instead of getting paid more, they could just give him a fancier uniform like this guy. (The image is out of date; Scott Knight, Chaska Police Chief, the commander of more than a dozen sworn officers and several additional clerks, recently added a fifth star, to go along with the five stripes on each sleeve. Brings him up to a total of twenty stars on his uniform, even if you don’t count whatever hardware he has on his tactical panties.) Chief Dean only has three. I guess that makes him feel… inadequate.
Gotta respect Knight’s authoritah; he’s actually campaigning to be the next head of the IACP.
Yeah, but is Chief Dean demanding to be paid for getting dressed and undressed before and after work à la LAPD?