Southampton Town hires new police chief

The Southampton Town Board has sworn in a new police chief who, for the first time in recent history, comes from outside department ranks.

The board Monday nightofficially appointed William Wilson Jr., who has been chief of the Southampton Village Police Department for about five years.

Wilson, 46, was one of five candidates interviewed after Chief Fred Overton retired April 16. Others interviewed were Capt. Anthony Tenaglia and the town police department's three lieutenants. Wilson did not return calls Monday seeking comment.

"We had five very strong candidates," town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst said Friday. "But he stood out as a catalyst for change."

Throne-Holst said she was impressed with Wilson's desire to work more closely with other law enforcement agencies and county task forces, as well as to look for new sources of revenue.

Overton's recent decision to pull a town detective off the East End Drug Task Force, a coalition of local, county, state and federal police officials, had rankled town officials such as Throne-Holst, who said the task force brought bigger resources to combating drugs on the East End.

Alan Schneider, Suffolk's civil service director, said Friday, when the board announced Wilson's selection, that it is unusual for the town to look outside its ranks for a new police chief. "I don't recall a time when a police chief job became vacant when it wasn't filled from within the ranks," Schneider said.

A town spokeswoman said Wilson's salary and start date have not been negotiated. Overton was earning $166,661 when he retired, she said.

Tenaglia, a 36-year town police veteran thought by many residents to be the heir apparent, said he was "disappointed" he was not selected but called it the town board's decision to make. "The chief is the lead, and I'll be a loyal captain," Tenaglia said Monday. "Just like I was loyal to the prior chief for 20 years."

Dozens of residents showed up at Monday's meeting to appoint Wilson, with many asking the board to explain how the decision to appoint from outside the police department was made. Police officers on the force lined the room, but stayed silent.