A long-running wrongful termination civil lawsuit brought by a former Southold Town police officer has been dismissed.
After nearly seven years of legal wrangling and finally landing in the Suffolk County Supreme Court in the fall, Judge James Quinn determined Monday that Garrett Lake and his legal counsel, “failed to meet his burden of proof,” that the former Southold police officer was fired in bad faith due to political pressure.
The ruling further stated Mr. Lake’s termination was “not based on an illegal or improper reason,” according to court documents.
“His claims were baseless, we asserted that from the beginning and the judge ultimately agreed with us,” said former Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell in a phone interview after the decision was released. “We hated to do it — laying someone off is one of the worst tasks of being an elected official — but the [Southold Town] Board believed we had no choice.”
In November, several Southold Town officials took to the witness stand during the non-jury trial, including Mr. Russell, Police Chief Martin Flatley, current Town Board members Jill Doherty and Louisa Evans, and Christopher Talbot, who served one term on the board from 2010 to 2013. Mr. Lake also testified.
The case revolved around a series of traffic stops conducted by Mr. Lake during his tenure as a probationary officer. The Southold Police Department and the Town Board received multiple complaints about Mr. Lake and were aware of several issues, witnesses testified, including routine stops for minor traffic infractions that escalated into full-blown searches of vehicles and accusations of police harassment.
“It’s time to move on,” Mr. Russell continued. “I wish him well.”
The full text of the Suffolk County Supreme Court decision is below.
[This is a developing story and will be updated.]