'Broken' List Expands Options for Police Chief, but Southampton Village Officials Say They Are Getting Close To Making a Permanent Hire

Thirteen months — that’s how long it has been since Southampton Village has had a permanent police chief.

While the search to find a replacement for Chief Thomas Cummings, who retired in September 2021 after reaching a settlement with the village, has taken longer than many residents expected, village officials say they are getting closer to the end of that search — and perhaps have a candidate in mind.

Back in March, eight potential candidates took the police chief’s exam, administered by the Suffolk County Civil Service Department. But when the results came out in August, it was revealed that only three of them passed.

That short list included Southampton Town Police Captain James Kiernan; William J. Hayes, a former chief with the Bedford Police Department in upstate New York; and Chris Broich, a former Southampton Village Police sergeant who was dismissed from the force in 2007.

Village officials revealed earlier this month that the list is now considered “broken” because Kiernan indicated that he would not be seeking the position after all. There had also been talk that the village could have hired off a list of candidates who had passed the exam administered for the position of police chief in Westhampton Beach Village — a position that has since been filled — but that list expired at the start of this month, so those candidates are no longer in play.

The fact that the list is now considered broken means that the village is free to hire someone on a provisional basis, meaning the village can give the job to someone who has yet to pass the exam, and that person would only be able to stay in the job if he or she passes the exam within a certain period of time.

Earlier this month, Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren said that the list becoming “broken” was both good and bad.

“It’s good, because the village has increased flexibility as to who the board can appoint,” he said. “But also that person might be a provisional hire, so that person, at some point, would then need to actually pass the exam.”

While it has been a lengthy process, Warren said he has been pleased with the job that’s been done by Lieutenant Suzanne Hurteau, who has been the acting chief for more than a year.

“I’m very happy with our acting chief,” he said. “I think she’s doing a great job, so as far as I’m concerned, I’m not in a real rush.

“I think since she took the position, the department has been doing a great job,” he added. “I think we’re in good hands, and I think morale is pretty good, and it’s been a pleasure working with her.”

Trustee Roy Stevenson serves on the police chief search committee, along with Trustee Robin Brown, who heads the committee. Brown did not immediately return a call for comment earlier this month, but Stevenson weighed in with his thoughts on the ongoing search.

“The process is continuing,” he said. “It’s all coming together. It’s taken a fair amount of time, but we really want to get this right, and I think we’re getting down to the decision-making process.”

Stevenson did not seem to be thrilled about the development of a “broken” list potentially opening up a new pool of candidates for the village to consider. “We should make our choice,” he said. “To go back to the beginning again, I’m not interested in that.

“I think we have the candidate,” Stevenson said. “I think the mayor may have to nominate a candidate, so I await to see who he nominates. But my personal feeling is that we have a person who would make a good chief. Pending further due diligence we are close to wrapping up.”

Asked whether he would be willing to consider other candidates who may not have previously been in play but now, because of the broken list, could be hired provisionally, Stevenson said, “I think we need to move forward.

“It’s taken more than a year,” he continued. “At some point, you have to put your stake in the ground and make your decision.”

Village officials have consistently refused to comment on who the candidates are and whether or not Hurteau is a candidate for the permanent chief’s position.