DA investigating allegations of irregularities in timesheets submitted by Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said his office is investigating allegations made by Legis. Robert Trotta that outgoing Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison falsified timesheets to receive a larger payout  when he leaves the department later this month.

Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), a frequent and vocal critic of the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, alleged in a news release Thursday that Harrison changed leave days to sick days on previously filed timesheets to get a larger payout. In the news release, Trotta urged Tierney to open an investigation.

“We take allegations of this type seriously,” Tierney said in a statement to Newsday hours after Trotta made his letter public. “We will confer with the chief of department.”

Harrison said he changed some vacation days to sick days for additional time off, which he said is a common practice in the Suffolk County Police Department. He changed them back after consulting with the county attorney, he said.

"I put them back, and there is nothing wrong here," Harrison said Thursday. “I have dedicated my career to law enforcement, not politics, and these wild and baseless allegations by a politician will not undermine or diminish the crucial work we have completed over the last two years.”

Suffolk Chief of Department Robert Waring declined to comment on Trotta’s allegations. 

Trotta said he was told the changes were made in September, October and November. He said he was told of the issue about a week ago and estimates it applies to anywhere between 10 and 30 days. He estimates that the changes could equal about $10,000 paid in unused time.

Trotta said multiple sources in the department have told him that on several occasions Harrison changed the classification of days that he has previously taken off, which Trotta believes was intended to receive a higher payout. Some classifications, including sick days, are not eligible to be paid out when a department member quits, but other classifications are, Trotta said.

“This does not sound like the man I know,” Suffolk Police Benevolent Association president Lou Civello said of Harrison. “I hope this is not Trotta just slinging mud at him.”

Trotta was removed from the legislature's public safety committee in March after he threatened to play an audio recording of a private conversation with Harrison. 

"Just months after admitting that he was secretly recording private conversations with the police commissioner, Trotta is back making more outrageous accusations about one of the most highly respected law-enforcement officers in our state and nation," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said. 

Tierney, meanwhile, clashed with Harrison in October, when the district attorney issued a scathing statement criticizing the commissioner after he appeared at a news conference with attorney John Ray to discuss witnesses who provided Ray with statements linking suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex A. Heuermann to slain victim Karen Vergata and Shannan Gilbert, the woman whose disappearance in 2010 led to the discovery of 10 sets of remains along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.

Tierney’s statement criticized Harrison and Ray — but did not name them — for not providing his office with advance notice of the press conference, although he did say investigators would meet. Harrison said he appeared at the news conference to encourage people involved in illegal or taboo activities to step forward with evidence, even if it means they initially contact Ray.

Harrison, 54, tendered his resignation to Bellone on Nov. 3, almost two years after he succeeded Geraldine Hart as commissioner following a 30-year career with the New York City Police Department. It had been widely rumored that Harrison would be replaced after Bellone, who nominated Harrison for the job in December 2021 and was prevented from running for reelection due to term limits, leaves office in January.

Harrison said he notified County Executive-elect Ed Romaine and Democratic challenger Dave Calone about his intention to step down early in the campaign to replace Bellone to give the winner of the Nov. 7 election the opportunity to name his own commissioner.

Harrison would have been interested in staying on, he said, but neither Romaine or Calone approached Harrison about remaining in the position. He said his last day as commissioner will be sometime this month.

“I took pride in being the police commissioner of Suffolk County,” Harrison said in a recent interview. 

A review of Harrison’s attendance record, obtained by Trotta and provided to Newsday, shows that Harrison was absent every weekday in November since announcing his resignation.

Trotta also alleged that Harrison took sick days in January, February and March when he was traveling to attend his daughter’s college basketball games. Harrison’s daughter, Baldwin High School standout Kaia Harrison, is a guard on the Wake Forest University women’s team.

Newsday has submitted a Freedom of Information request seeking Harrison’s time records and history of all changes made this year.

Trotta said he wants Tierney to review the matter and determine if there should be criminal charges. Trotta said if true, the commissioner should at least forfeit all his unused vacation time.

“This wasn’t a mistake; this was a conscious effort,” Trotta said. “If the DA feels he should be charged, he should be charged.”