WESTHAMPTON BEACH—Disciplinary hearings for two Westhampton Beach Village Police officers were put on hold again on Thursday, May 6, when the Village Board tabled the resolutions authorizing them.

At the same meeting, retired Village Police officer Fred Hager blasted Mayor Conrad Teller and Police Chief Ray Dean for how they have handled the situation, and also apparently identified a third village officer who was recently served with disciplinary charges in a separate incident.

Mayor Teller and Chief Dean refused to confirm if Detective Steve Cunneen was served with disciplinary charges, as stated by Mr. Hager during the public participation part of Thursday’s meeting. Last month, the mayor said that a third officer, whom he declined to identify, disobeyed an order, and that the officer later denied the allegation. A resolution to authorize a disciplinary hearing for the officer, who has not been suspended, will be addressed during a special meeting, according to Mayor Teller. As of Tuesday morning, a date had not yet been set for the meeting.

Det. Cunneen, who did not return calls seeking comment, suffered a work-related injury and has worked only two of the 38 days he was scheduled for between March 1 and April 27, taking 31 sick days and five vacation days during that time, according to village records.

On Thursday night, Mr. Hager accused the chief and mayor of trying to destroy the police department and called for them to step down. Mr. Hager also blasted Mayor Teller for serving Det. Cunneen with disciplinary charges because he did not provide the village with medical records to document his line of duty injury.

“It’s not only unwarranted, but will cost the village a fortune,” Mr. Hager said of holding a disciplinary hearing.

Some of Mr. Hager’s comments drew a sharp rebuke from Village Attorney Dick Haefeli, who warned him that he needs to show respect when addressing board members, especially the mayor.

Chief Dean and Mayor Teller later dismissed Mr. Hager’s comments. “His comments are not worthy of a response,” Chief Dean said.

Mayor Teller pointed out after the meeting that Mr. Hager was disciplined on many occasions when he was a police officer, including once for sleeping on duty, and retired in 2003 before he was subject to a disciplinary hearing.

Mr. Hager didn’t deny that he was disciplined while he was on the force, but he pointed out that he was never subjected to a disciplinary hearing. He said on Tuesday that the disciplinary charges against three Westhampton Beach Police officers are “embellished, if not fabricated,” and that’s why he decided to speak out at the meeting.

At the same meeting, Westhampton Beach Village Board members tabled seven resolutions that would have authorized disciplinary hearings for Officers Michael Bruetsch and Joseph Pesapane, who were suspended in October following a Suffolk County Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau investigation that accused them of lying to superior officers during an investigation of a fellow colleague’s missing weapon. The officers were called back to work in December but have been on restrictive duty ever since.

Board members also tabled four other resolutions requesting that they drop their request for police department records of command discipline, gun ownership, penal law offenses, and records pertaining to audio and video evidence. Those resolutions passed in March.

The motion to table the 11 resolutions were approved by a 3-2 margin, with board members Joan Levan, Jim Kametler and Hank Tucker voting yes, and Mayor Teller and member Toni-Jo Birk opposing.

Mayor Teller said the board had met with its labor attorney, Richard Zuckerman, last month, and he had “fully supported all actions” taken by him to move forward with the disciplinary hearings for Officers Bruetsch and Pesapane. But Mr. Tucker, who will challenge Mayor Teller in next month’s election, said after the meeting that board members are waiting for more information regarding the four resolutions that would provide them access to the police records they are seeking.

“We need more information before we spend what could amount to large sums of taxpayer money,” he said.

But Mayor Teller, not wavering from his position that hearings must be held, said the board is wrong to not authorize the hearings.

“They were wrong when they started it,” he said. “They are still wrong, as far as I am concerned.”

Village resident Victor Levy, nicknaming the current divide on the board the “resolutionary wars,” asked why, after six months, the board has not acted on moving forward with disciplinary hearings despite meeting with legal counsel last month. Mr. Kametler, who is not seeking reelection next month, said there are other options board members have to weigh and suggested that the issue won’t be resolved by June 18, the date of the village election.