4 Island Police Officers Face Charges

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. – Four police officers in a resort town on Fire Island were ordered to surrender Tuesday to face criminal charges, one week after five fired colleagues sued for wrongful dismissal by a department they said was run "like a fraternity house."

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office did not identify the four officers or the nature of the charges.

The 24-member Ocean Beach police department has been the subject of a county grand jury probe since December. District Attorney Thomas Spota said he was concerned "about the conduct and supervision of the Ocean Beach Police Department," Newsday reported Tuesday.

Last week, five former police officers claimed they were wrongfully fired by acting Police Chief George Hesse, who they said associated with a drug dealer, had sex in department headquarters and covered up cases of brutality.

"This is an acting police chief who is running the police department like a fraternity house," said the fired officers’ attorney Doug Wigdor.

Village and police officials have declined to comment on the lawsuit. In an interview with Newsday, Hesse would not say why he fired the five officers. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court seeks millions in damages – an exact amount will be determined at trial – and the restoration of their jobs.

At the time, the officers said they were targeted by the acting chief over fears they were cooperating with the Suffolk County inquiry into corruption in the department. Their lawyer said they were cooperating now that they had been fired.

Ocean Beach police said they had no comment and referred calls to village authorities. A message left on the village office’s main line Tuesday was not returned.

Ocean Beach is a popular vacation spot on the strip of land off New York’s Long Island. Many of the villages on the island are accessible only by ferry.