Clarkstown's Chief Sullivan: Key figure absent from hearings

Michael D'Onofrio | The Journal News

Show Caption Hide Caption VIDEO: The missing man from Clarkstown police chief's disciplinary hearings Stephen Cole-Hatchard has been entangled in the disciplinary proceedings against Clarkstown's embattled police chief has been mentioned often and repeatedly accused of wrongdoing by the town's prosecutor, but he has remained absent from the hearings.

CLARKSTOWN - The man entangled in the disciplinary proceedings against the town's suspended police chief has been mentioned often and repeatedly accused of wrongdoing by the town's prosecutor.

But Stephen Cole-Hatchard, the former Clarkstown police sergeant and onetime director of Rockland's Special Intelligence Unit, has remained absent from the hearings, which are expected to conclude around June 7.

Joseph Ranni, Cole-Hatchard's lawyer, characterized the accusations against Cole-Hatchard and the attempt to oust suspended Police Chief Michael Sullivan as a “charade” and a “legal circus.”

Although the town's special prosecutor William Harrington has subpoenaed Cole-Hatchard twice to testify, he has not sought a court order to force him to appear, Ranni said.

Cole-Hatchard is not legally compelled to testify, Ranni said, and doing so could jeopardize his ongoing civil rights lawsuit against town officials related to his removal from the SIU.

“He’s in legal proceedings, and they’ve smeared him … That’s why they’re doing it: They’re trying to trap him,” Ranni said about the town’s attempts to get Cole-Hatchard to testify during the hearings.

A resident of Stony Point, Cole-Hatchard also is a lawyer and has served as town attorney and councilman for Stony Point.

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Cole-Hatchard is not facing any disciplinary charges.

The former sergeant was cleared of any wrongdoing after he was removed from the SIU last year. He was later placed on administrative leave, and soon after resigned from the Clarkstown Police Department, where he served for more than three decades.

But that has not stopped Harrington from attempting to link Sullivan and Cole-Hatchard during the disciplinary hearings.

When asked about Cole-Hatchard's refusal to testify, Harrington said: “It doesn’t hurt our case a bit. In fact, it helps.”

“I’d like to have him, but I don’t need him because of the forensic proof we’ve developed," he added.

Sullivan's lawyer, Richard Glickel, emphasized in an email that Cole-Hatchard was not the one facing disciplinary charges.

"In light of the fact that the town remains unable to prove any wrongdoing on the part of Chief Sullivan, (the) special counsel’s continued attempt at 'guilt by association' is unconscionable," Glickel said.

During the hearings, Cole-Hatchard has been accused of:

Ranni denied those allegations levied against Cole-Hatchard.

"He acted in accordance with the town policy and he acted in accordance with law enforcement confidentiality," Ranni said.

Those allegations, Ranni added, also are part of a coordinated effort of retaliation against Cole-Hatchard and Sullivan for raising concerns over political campaign donations from former Clarkstown Sgt. Michael Garvey, who secretly funded George Hoehmann’s campaign for supervisor and other GOP candidates in 2015.

Garvey funneled campaign donations through a business linked to Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino's Reform Party campaign fund.

Cole-Hatchard's lawsuit is seeking for him to be reinstated to the Clarkstown Police Department, as well as receiving lost pay and monetary damages, among other things.

Where the case stands

The hearings resume Tuesday on 22 of the most significant disciplinary charges against Sullivan, which include insubordination, dereliction of duty, disobedience and incompetence.

He has denied the charges and called them politically motivated.

Sullivan was suspended with pay from his $273,000-a-year job in July 2016.

Robert Ponzini, the hearing officer, has yet to render his recommendations to the Town Board for the charges covered in the first round of hearings, which concluded earlier this year.

The recommendations could include exoneration, suspension without pay for up to 20 days, or termination.

The Town Board will ultimately vote to accept or reject the recommendations regarding both sets of disciplinary charges.

Twitter: @mikedonofrio_