Nassau detectives Daniel P. Concannon and Robert D. Galgano under review by state and county panels for strip search of Queens man

Nassau County and state-level prosecutors confirmed Wednesday their agencies were scrutinizing the actions of a pair of Nassau police detectives after a federal judge called their claims surrounding the 2018 strip search of a Queens man “farcical.”

The review by the office of State Attorney General Letitia James and a separate investigation by Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly followed the judge’s 2021 findings regarding the testimony of Nassau police detectives Daniel P. Concannon and Robert D. Galgano.

Nicole Turso, a spokeswoman for the Nassau DA’s office, said its office is probing the officers. 

“We are currently reviewing all active cases with regards to the detectives,” Turso said, but declined to comment further when asked how many cases were part of its review.

Concannon and Galgano were sued in 2019 by James Jenkins, who the judge ruled was the subject of an illegal strip search “without any basis” by the detectives in Elmont on July 30, 2018.

“The undisputed facts establish that the defendant police officers conducted an improper and unlawful search of the plaintiff, an automobile passenger who, no one disputes, did nothing wrong, suspicious or threatening,” U.S. District Judge Gary A. Brown wrote in a May 2021 decision following a civil trial in federal court in Central Islip. “Furthermore, the evidence demonstrates that those police officers, who created false police records and made demonstrably false statements during the trial, used excessive and improper methods while taking these actions against the plaintiff.”

Brown ordered the detectives to pay damages — issuing a $20,000 award against Galgano and a $10,000 award against Concannon.

“While their exact roles remain somewhat vague — due largely to their lack of candor — it seems clear that Galgano was more culpable than Concannon, though the latter participated, shares much of the responsibility, did nothing to intervene, and tried to help cover up the events of that evening,” Brown wrote.

The judge added that the detectives denied coordinating their written statements, but they appeared nearly identical.

“The similarities are undeniable, and thus cannot be attributed to coincidence, yet one of the defendants clung to this farcical explanation in sworn testimony,” Brown added.

A spokesperson for the attorney general's office confirmed that the office also is reviewing the matter.

Executive Law 75, which was enacted in 2020 as part of a statewide police reform effort after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, requires police agencies in New York State to refer incidents in which an officer or employee has received at least five complaints from five or more individuals relating to at least five separate incidents involving a certain officer or employee within two years to the attorney general’s Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigation Office.

Ali Frick, the Manhattan-based attorney for Jenkins, said Wednesday that she was asked for records in the case by investigators in the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigation Office. Frick said she has not been contacted by the Nassau district attorney's office.

"We're glad to see that these police officers are being looked into, though seeing as a federal judge decided nearly two years ago that they illegally strip searched our client and then lied about it in court, these investigations may be too little too late,” Frick said. “We urge investigators to wrap up their investigations quickly and ensure that the officers face real consequences for their actions.”

Frick added that the punitive damages the judge awarded against the officers were paid by Nassau County and the county also paid over $130,000 in Jenkins’ attorneys' fees and costs. The county did not appeal.

Asked whether the district attorney’s office has prohibited the detectives from testifying in any criminal proceedings, Turso said the judge’s ruling against the detectives would be turned over to defense attorneys during the discovery process.

“The judicial decision involving the detectives has been added to our Giglio file and is provided to defense attorneys as part of our ongoing discovery obligations,” Turso said. “As in all cases, we evaluate every case based on the strength and weaknesses of the evidence, as well as the strength and weaknesses of the witnesses.”

Giglio refers to a case that mandates prosecutors disclose any information that may be used to impeach the credibility of their witnesses including law enforcement officers.

A Nassau County Police Department spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. A representative for the detective’s union could not be reached.

The probes were first reported by Gothamist.

BENCH TRIAL DECISION AND ORDER by Newsday on Scribd

Concannon, who began working for Nassau police in 2014, was paid $141,688.36 in 2021, according to Newsday’s payroll database. Galgano, with the Nassau police since 2015, made $154,112.35 in 2021, the database said.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.