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The lawyer representing Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot said last week that Westhampton Beach Village Police made a mistake in charging his client with DWI early on Labor Day, adding that the evidence he has reviewed—including video of the arrest itself—supports his argument.
“After viewing the [video] tapes, I can say, with full confidence, that, after reviewing all the other evidence, there is not the slightest indication that she spoke with slurred speech, no evidence of bloodshot eyes, no staggering,” said attorney William Keahon, the third lawyer to represent Ms. Kabot in her DWI case. She is “innocent” of the charge, he later added.
In a first interview since Ms. Kabot’s September 7 arrest, the supervisor and her attorney, who provided answers to questions directly related to the criminal case, acknowledged Tuesday, September 22, that Ms. Kabot did drink two normal-sized glasses of wine over several hours before her arrest, but that she was never intoxicated. Mr. Keahon said that Ms. Kabot, who was attending a 40th birthday party at her sister’s home in East Moriches earlier that night, had one glass of wine at around 7 p.m., and a second glass between 9 and 9:15 p.m.
Ms. Kabot was arrested after a traffic stop at 12:25 a.m. when Westhampton Beach Village Police said they observed her vehicle cross the double-yellow line on Main Street while she was making a left turn from Sunset Avenue onto Main Street. Police officials had previously stated that she was making a left turn from Library Avenue onto Main Street—a point corrected by Mr. Keahon on Tuesday.
According to the police report, the arresting officer said that Ms. Kabot’s breath “smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage,” and her eyes were “red and glassy.”
Mr. Keahon disputes statements in the police report, including comments that Ms. Kabot appeared to be intoxicated and failed two sobriety tests administered by the arresting officer, identified on the report as Officer Ryan Lucas. Officer Steve McManus was also at the scene at the time of the arrest.
“She did not fail any sobriety test,” said Mr. Keahon.
He also defended Ms. Kabot’s decision not to submit to breath and chemical tests after her arrest, a decision that resulted in her driver’s license being automatically suspended for a year—regardless of the ruling in her DWI trial.
Ms. Kabot—who, on the advice of her attorney, refrained from speaking for most of the nearly two-hour interview—had previously noted that she declined the breath test because she felt “angry and intimidated” by the “overzealous nature” of the arresting officers—a point repeated by Mr. Keahon on Tuesday.
Mr. Keahon said Westhampton Beach Village Police made a wrongful arrest. “The jury will see very clearly the absence of intoxication in her driving and physical condition, and will find, without question, that the [prosecutor] will fail to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.
Mr. Keahon did note that almost four and a half minutes of tape and accompanying audio are missing from the video of Ms. Kabot’s arrest, which was taken prior to the arrest. He added that portions of the two field sobriety tests are “memorialized” on the video that he reviewed.
He declined to provide copies of the arrest video, maintaining that the recording—actually, there are three and possibly even four separate videos taken early that Monday morning—is considered evidence in DWI cases and cannot be released to the public because it could taint a jury pool.
The Southampton Press has filed two Freedom of Information Law requests—one with Westhampton Beach Village, and the other with Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota’s office—seeking a copy of the video. The village has denied the FOIL request, and an appeal has been filed.
Mr. Keahon said he has obtained and reviewed three videos of that night from the Suffolk County DA’s office. He believes that there is a fourth tape of the conversation between Ms. Kabot and the police officers while she was being processed at Westhampton Beach Village Police headquarters.
Westhampton Beach Village Police Chief Ray Dean on Tuesday declined to comment on the case and the points raised by Mr. Keahon. Chief Dean did maintain that his officers made a lawful and appropriate arrest.
Mr. Keahon also revealed Tuesday that an anonymous letter mailed to Southampton Town Hall about a week after Ms. Kabot’s arrest is also being investigated by her attorney. The letter, copies of which were also mailed to the supervisor’s private post office box and home address, state that “[w]hile you were being field tested for sobriety, a call was placed to Anna by a ranking police officer who told her, ‘We got her.’”
The “Anna” clearly refers to Southampton Town Board member Anna Throne-Holst, the Democratic candidate who is challenging Ms. Kabot, a Republican, in the November election for town supervisor. Though he acknowledges that the letter came from an anonymous source, Mr. Keahon said he plans to investigate the matter and to determine if a call was, in fact, placed to her that night.
“We’re not making accusations at this point, but it certainly triggers an inquiry,” Mr. Keahon said, referring to the anonymous letter.
On Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Throne-Holst said someone did call her early in the morning on September 7 with the news of Ms. Kabot’s arrest, but it was not a police officer. Ms. Throne-Holst would not say who called her or what time she received the call.
“It was all over the radio waves,” Ms. Throne-Holst said, referring to Ms. Kabot’s DWI arrest.
She added that the accusations made in the anonymous letter are false.
Both Mr. Keahon and Ms. Kabot agreed that while the letter does not indicate a political motive for the traffic stop itself, it was worthwhile to investigate the validity of the claims. “I don’t allege that there’s a political stunt afoot here,” Ms. Kabot said.
“She’s a fighter,” Mr. Keahon said later in the interview, referring to his client. “She has enemies—there’s no question about that.”
Regarding Ms. Kabot’s upcoming trial, Mr. Keahon said he should know within the next two weeks if it will be held prior to Election Day, Tuesday, November 3.
The one thing certain is that the trial will not be held in Westhampton Beach or Southampton Town justice courts, because the town and village justices all know Ms. Kabot, according to Mr. Keahon. He said that Westhampton Beach Village Justice Court Judges Robert Kelly and Gair Betts recused themselves from Ms. Kabot’s DWI case this week because they know her personally.
Mr. Keahon said he has no intention of pursuing a plea bargain, adding that he is confident that Ms. Kabot’s case will go to trial.
As for Ms. Kabot, she said the criminal charge has been a distraction for her as she tries to focus on her job and family. She maintained that she is trying to stay focused on closing the town’s $4.5 million budget deficit and is “tirelessly committed” to her family, which includes her husband, Lance, and their three children, the youngest of whom is 9 years old.
“It’s something that happens. The [legal] process must go through,” she said. “I’m strong. I’m someone who prides myself on doing the right thing.”
Ms. Kabot said she has received hundreds of letters and e-mails of support from community members. She said she could not say whether the criminal charge could ultimately harm her chances of reelection in November, even if she is acquitted.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” she said. “The impact has yet to be seen.”
on Sep 28, 2009