Westhampton Beach Provisional Police Chief Trevor Gonce failed his Suffolk County Civil Service Police Chief exam, meaning he will have to wait at least another year before he can be promoted to a full-fledged police chief.Mr. Gonce, who was tapped by the Village Board in December to replace former Chief Raymond Dean as the head of the Westhampton Beach Police Department, took the exam on March 14. It is not clear when the results were available but, in general, the tests take a few months to process and score, according to an official with the Suffolk County Civil Service Department.Mr. Gonce will remain the provisional chief until he passes the chiefs’ test, Mayor Maria Moore said on Friday morning. The next test will be given in March 2016; eligible officers can take the test up to three times, the mayor added.When asked how he scored last week, Mr. Gonce said he did not know but he expected the results to be announced by the county shortly.On Friday afternoon, Ms. Moore clarified that she has been aware that Mr. Gonce failed the exam for nearly a month, and she acknowledged that she had previously spoken to the provisional chief about his test results. She noted, however, that she needed to reach out to Suffolk County to get the exam results.Mr. Gonce did not return multiple calls and text messages seeking comment this week.A posting on the Suffolk County Civil Service Department website states that only one person—William L. Ricca, who scored an 83—passed the most recent exam. The site suggests that the results were made available on June 5. The department does not release non-passing scores.Ms. Moore expressed her continued support for Mr. Gonce moving forward.“We’re all disappointed for him, and we’re confident he’ll pass the next time he takes the test,” she said. “He still will continue on as the provisional chief—we all think he’s doing a great job leading the department.”Mr. Gonce was appointed provisional chief after a lengthy search by the Village Board that began after Mr. Dean’s abrupt departure in June 2014. In the immediate aftermath, Mr. Gonce, then a lieutenant, was put in charge of the department but was not named interim chief as the board interviewed several other candidates, and even offered the job to former Southampton Town and Southampton Village Police Chief William Wilson before withdrawing the offer in the face of political scrutiny.As 2014 drew to a close, Mr. Gonce was named provisional chief, but with a catch: the board sought to hire a police commissioner to supervise him. That idea, too, was later dropped because of the backlash received by the board, though this time of a more public nature.Mr. Gonce has been with the Westhampton Beach Police Department for his entire 20-year career in law enforcement. He was promoted to sergeant in 2003 and to lieutenant in 2007, only to be demoted later that same year for what the Village Board at the time described as a cost-cutting measure, though some believe it was done as an act of retribution against Mr. Gonce.Earlier that year, Mr. Gonce responded to a report of shots fired at the Oak Street home of then-Deputy Mayor Jim Kametler, who told Mr. Gonce he was trying to kill a rabid opossum. Mr. Gonce did not arrest Mr. Kametler for discharging his registered weapon, but reported the incident to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office. After a lengthy investigation, that office concluded that no crime had been committed. Five months after the gun incident, Mr. Gonce was demoted.In 2010, Mr. Gonce was promoted back to lieutenant and given the $9,000 that was taken from him in 2007, restoring his salary to $123,500. This past year, Mr. Gonce made more than $170,000 when factoring in his salary, holiday and longevity pay, educational allowance and night differential.Mr. Gonce is not eligible for a chief’s contract until he passes the county exam.
Kyle Campbell on Jun 26, 2015