Lana Bellamy

lBellamy@th-record.com

CITY OF NEWBURGH – Newburgh city police Chief Doug Solomon has been relieved of his duties and Lt. Kevin Lahar has been appointed officer-in-charge at the police department, City Manager Joe Donat said Thursday.

Solomon was officially suspended Wednesday afternoon.

“These actions were directly related to his (Solomon) performance as a chief and had nothing to do with the work of the men and women in the police department,” Donat said.

The city manager is the appointing authority for city government and, therefore, had the ability to make this decision without a vote by the City Council.

Donat would not comment further on Solomon’s future with the city because it is a personnel matter.

Lahar has spent his entire law enforcement career with the City of Newburgh Police Department, beginning in 2003. Lahar worked as a K9 officer for nine years and was involved in some of the department’s community policing efforts.

He was promoted to sergeant in 2015 and was appointed a lieutenant in February of 2019.

Lahar also serves as president of the Police Superior Officers Association, the department’s union for high-ranking officers separate from the Police Benevolent Association.

“He’s a man of honor and valor, and has the respect of the rank-and-file members of the department,” Donat said of Lahar. “I have seen firsthand his level of dedication and leadership he has provided to the department.”

Solomon was named the city’s provisional police chief in February of 2018. His permanent appointment was delayed by a state determination that the civil service exam he passed to be Monticello’s chief in 2002 had lower eligibility and passing standards than the exam for a department of Newburgh’s size.

Solomon was cleared to become Newburgh’s chief four months later.

Solomon was elected village trustee in Monticello in 2014 and appointed mayor in 2015 after former Mayor Gordon Jenkins was removed from office. Solomon was elected to a four-year mayoral term in 2016, but resigned in 2018 to focus on his job as police chief in Newburgh.

lbellamy@th-record.com