Residents support new Muttontown police

Christopher Ernst keeps a stack of business cards in the armrest of his patrol car as he travels Muttontown's six square miles of new subdivisions and grand old estates.

As one of seven village police officers in Long Island's first from-scratch department in decades, making introductions is almost as important as enforcing laws.

Following village trustees' controversial May decision to break from Old Brookville police, there remain people to win over.

"They say it's nothing personal," Ernst said of residents who opposed the department. "And it's OK. A lot of people are just scared of change. But you know what? Now it's my job to let them know we're here."

Muttontown police launched operations at midnight, June 1, after a celebratory swearing-in at the Hoffman Center. In their first month on the job, officers answered 143 calls, nearly half of which were unfounded residential alarms.

They responded to 16 auto accidents and referred nine criminal reports to Nassau police detectives. Village officers made their first arrest, for driving while intoxicated, on July 6, and put 16,000 miles on patrol vehicles in five weeks.

"That means our officers are really out there," said Chief William McHale. "They're familiarizing themselves and building relationships."

For now, having seven officers allows two cars on the road at any time. The village expects to soon hire two more experienced officers and potentially a sergeant.

And when two cadets complete Nassau County police academy training in December, the village will put three cars on the road at once -- which staffing will allow every other day, officials said. Now, the seven officers each work eight hours of weekly overtime to ensure two-car coverage.

Kevin Spillane, a former trustee who opposed leaving Old Brookville police, complimented the new force's friendliness and visibility, but said the village, at a public hearing, led residents to think that nine officers would start immediately.

"We're not where they said we would be," he said.

Nassau police, which provides dispatchers and detectives for Muttontown, responded to patrol calls 28 times in June, at the village's additional expense, said Nassau Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.

But McHale said only a handful of the responses should be billable because many cases turned out to not need the county officers. He didn't disclose the cost, but said the department is still within its first-year $2.85-million budget.

Muttontown was one of seven villages that for decades paid Old Brookville for police patrol. The loss of its $3-million contribution -- an amount Muttontown thought was too high -- for 2011 led Old Brookville to eliminate 12 positions and return detectives to patrol.

Joseph King, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor, said Muttontown bucked a recent trend of municipalities merging police operations with neighboring communities to cut costs.

"There's an absolute learning curve" for the new force, said King, a retired U.S. Customs agent. "In a small village, you've got to learn everyone's routine: Should this house have its lights on at 1 a.m. because the guy's in Florida or in France?"

The new Muttontown officers, from New York City and State Parks police, say resident support has been overwhelming and interaction more frequent than at a large jurisdiction.

"It's a good feeling to come to work and have people appreciate what you do," Ernst said. "That doesn't happen everywhere."