Southern Ulster Times , Wednesday , November 30 , 2016 3
Police chief placed on administrative leave following misdemeanor arrest
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and believes the matter may then be referred to Family Court .
In a phone interview , Ryan said he and his son , 12 , and daughter , 14 , were at home at the time of the incident but not his wife . “ All I did was I was being a father , that ’ s all ,” he said . Ryan said he pushed in his daughter ’ s locked door , which split down the middle , “ to make sure she was OK .” He said he was concerned that a particular friend of his daughter was with her in her room , which proved not to be the case .
Ryan has a distinguished career in law enforcement , starting as a patrolman in New York City in 1986 . He joined the Plattekill Police Department in 1996 and was appointed to the position of Chief in 2007 . Ryan also attained the rank of Captain while serving in the Orange County Sheriff ’ s Office from 1987 to 2011 .
Previous news accounts of an incident on June 5 , 2016 , alleging that Ryan was drunk and grabbed a female ’ s buttocks at the Ramada Inn in Newburgh is completely false , according to Chief Ryan .
“ All I can say is it never happened . The guy that made
the complaint against me was totally off-base ,” Ryan said , adding that no charges were filed against him . He said this alleged incident may have been used against him in the recent incident of last week .
Ryan said the Town of Newburgh Police “ were good guys and they treated me with a lot of respect ,” Ryan reflected on his ordeal . “ I am dismayed that my character has been tarnished . My whole life I have tried to do the right thing ,” Ryan said . “ There ’ s a lot of people out there that know that I ’ ve done the right thing . I ’ m not guilty of these charges . That ’ s all I can say .”
Plattekill Supervisor Joe Croce said he learned about the arrest the following day in a phone call from Lt . William Smith . Croce stressed that at this time Chief Ryan has been charged but not convicted and in this country the presumption of innocence is the bedrock of our judicial system .
“ He is entitled to his day in court . Anybody can be arrested , its a matter of being convicted ,” Croce said . “ I am not going to jump the gun on anything , [ but ] obviously myself and the Town Board are very concerned . This is not a good thing .”
After consulting with the town ’ s attorney , Croce contacted the rest of the Town Board on what had transpired . The board decided to put Ryan on paid administrative leave and had him turn over to the department his town issued weapons , his ID card , his police badge and keys . Until further notice Ryan will not be in the office .
As per the chain of command , Lt . William Smith is in charge of the department until this matter is resolved . Croce pointed out that he did appoint Lt . Smith to an interim position , “ because I don ’ t think that it is appropriate for this situation ,” adding “ Lt . Smith would make whatever decisions have to be made in the Chief ’ s absence .”
Croce said in the coming weeks , the town board will look into what they might have to do moving forward concerning this matter . He said because this happened at the start of a busy holiday weekend , he and the board have not had time to review this incident in detail .
“ At this time it is still very much up in the air ,” Croce said . “ As we move forward if further action is warranted by myself and the town board , we ’ ll take whatever action we feel is appropriate ; what that might be I really don ’ t know .”
St . Augustine ’ s opens their doors for Thanksgiving
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Day dinner at St . Augustine ’ s Church in Highland a great success . The dinner is always held on Thanksgiving Day and is free to the public .
Fr . Thomas Lutz , of St . Augustine ’ s Church , said many local churches and businesses enthusiastically joined in the effort , making the day a joyous interfaith community event .
“ Everything is donated . The word goes out to different parishes , churches and in the community . We have a mailer that goes out to the business community ,” he said .
Fr . Lutz said last year they served 125 people “ and everybody gets take out so it is at least 200 meals . The Town of Lloyd Police make home deliveries , so we do that with shut-ins too .”
Fr . Lutz gave special thanks to Sal Timpero , of Sal ’ s Restaurant , for cooking 18 donated turkeys the night before and to chef Mark Schmitt for handling all of the day ’ s busy kitchen chores .
Fr . Lutz said hosting this special Thanksgiving dinner “ is a sign of our faith , a sign of why we ’ re here , to serve the needs of the community and the needs of the poor .” He paraphrased scripture [ Matthew 25:36 ], saying that a key Christian precept is to “ feed the hungry and clothe the naked and support those in need . Its an ingrained part of our faith to serve others , especially those in
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Dinner is served .
need .”
Fr . Lutz added that many attend the dinner who are alone , or couples whose children are grown , or are elderly whose families live a distance and simply need a place to go on Thanksgiving .
Rich Gorres credits Fr . Lutz for starting the event but he has worked at every dinner to ensure it is a success .
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Gorres brought his previous expertise of assisting at a dinner in New Paltz to help the one at St . Augustine get off the ground .
“ As soon as I put my foot in my mouth , guess whose running it , I got a job ” he said . “ It works for me .”
Gorres said a committee plans the event and there is no shortage
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of volunteers who give back to the community on Thanksgiving Day . On a personal level Gorres said he receives the satisfaction from helping people who may be in need or do not have a place to go on this special holiday .
Chef Mark Schmitt works two days to prepare and serve all of the food . He said Gorres reached out to him four years ago for his help .
“ Its a great team of people [ and ] its not just about me , its a collaboration of a lot of people and the businesses that donate and help us pull it off ,” he said . “ Its a great event and its building each year and its for a good cause .”
Police Chief Daniel Waage attended the event , along with his son Daniel , as well as Sgts . Phil Roloson and Anthony Kalimeras .
“ I think it is important to show the young members [ of the community ] that not everybody has it as good as we do and if we can help them out , that ’ s important as well ,” he said .
Chief Waage said this fits in with his idea of community policing , which helps to improve relations between his department and the public .
“ I think its important that they get to see and understand that we care and no matter what , this is a non-denomination , non-partisan thing and everybody joins together and makes everybody else ’ s day a little nicer ,” he said .
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