Express News Group Reporter Kitty Merrill Honored by Quogue Village Police

Not only does intrepid Express News Group staff writer Kitty Merrill report on crimes that occur on the East End, it seems that she sometimes solves them, too.

Merrill was honored recently by the administration of the Quogue Village Police Department with a Citizens Award for her role in solving a felony crime after someone spray-painted both public and private property on Dune Road in the village.

While scouring the village’s weekly police blotter on April 20, 2021, Merrill, in reading the report about the graffiti, recognized that it looked similar to crimes she had seen reported in the Southampton Town Police jurisdiction.

Putting two and two together, Merrill alerted Quogue Village Police officials to the similarities. They then contacted their counterparts in the Town Police, leading to a joint investigation by the two departments.

The investigation lead to the arrest of Kevin J. Buestan, then 22, of Southampton, who was charged with third-degree criminal mischief, a felony, and fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. Police said at the time that he vandalized the walkway at the wetlands preservation site on Dune Road as well as spray-painting graffiti on the front gate of a nearby residence. Southampton Town Police charged him with a misdemeanor count of making graffiti, on the same day.

Officials noted at the time that the graffiti was found numerous times over an eighth of a mile. It would be power washed but then show up again days later. After the arrest, no more incidents were reported.

Merrill was presented with a certificate denoting the Citizens Award at Quogue Police headquarters on March 15 by Police Chief Christopher B. Isola and Executive Officer Lieutenant Daniel Hartman.

“Kitty is an outstanding, trustworthy and dedicated reporter,” Isola said this week. “We are lucky to have such an individual covering our beat. There are times when Kitty literally knows as much, if not more, about crime patterns on the East End than we do.”

The award details Merrill’s assistance to the graffiti case, leading to the arrest. “Kitty Merrill, noticing a distinct pattern of crime between jurisdictions that may not have been otherwise shared, provided the Quogue Village Police Department Detectives Division with information that tied together several other graffiti cases in the surrounding area,” it reads.

“This is one of only two Citizens Awards ever given by the Quogue Village Police Department,” Hartman added, “and we are honored to present it to Kitty for her instrumental help in closing a felony criminal case in the Village of Quogue.”

It was all in a day’s work to Merrill, who, in addition to covering the Southampton Town Board and news stories in Hampton Bays and the western end of town, covers the Town Police as well as the police departments in Quogue, Westhampton Beach and Southampton villages.

“I think covering the four police departments offers insights into patterns of cases, as well as how the individual agencies respond to them,” she said. “It’s always satisfying when those of us in local media feel like we made a difference. That the difference we make is acknowledged and appreciated is definitely icing on the cake. Many thanks to Chief Isola and Lieutenant Hartman for the recognition and, as always, their respectful understanding of the importance of the relationship between media and police.”

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan said that he values the good working relationship the department has with Merrill.

“Kitty Merrill has been a steadfast professional reporter that digs, pries, sweet talks, and demands that public information be delivered timely and accurately,” he said. “She cares about the people on the East End and is very much in tune with the community.

“Kitty is a pleasure to work with especially in these times when media and police professionals around the country seem to be at odds,” he added. “As police professionals, we are lucky to serve in an area that supports the police, and Kitty Merrill’s responsible reporting has helped to develop that community police partnership.”