Amity PD born with a hat, badge and bike as first COP takes patrol
by Carolyn James

Shown at a reunion are former Amityville Police Officers in 1961: Sgt. james A Caples. PTL Francis Bussy, PTL Louis Compitello, PTL Robert Drayton, Chief Kay, PTL Thomas Compitello, PTL Donald Compitello and PTL William Miller.

One hundred years ago, Charles Howenstein donned a cap and badge and, at a salary of $15 per month became Amityville Village’s first police officer. Constable Howenstein had no set post or duties. On foot during the day, and outfitted with a bicycle at night, he spent most of his time checking stores in the Village, greeting passers by and providing the sense of security that was the trademark of the local Constable on Patrol (COP).

That officially marked the birth of Amityville’s own Police Department, and while both the community and the role of the police officer has changed dramatically since that time, the philosophy under which the department was formed—to serve and protect the people of Amityville—is as much a strength within Amityville today as it was a century ago. Perhaps, even more so.

Amityville’s Police Department operated on a flexible basis during the early years. As the department grew, salaries increased to $50 a month. Officers who escorted prisoners to the County Jail in Riverhead on the Long Island Rail Road were additionally compensated at a rate of 20-cents per mile.

SMALL, BUT TOUGH

Despite these humble beginnings, the Amityville Police Department quickly gained a reputation for it’s toughness. During those years, Merrick Road handled most of the traffic through from New York City to Long Island. It was a toll road, mostly dirt, and occasionally lined with wood and maintained by individuals who owned property along the east-west traverse.

With the introduction of the automobile, a 10-mile per hour speed limit was set in Amityville and signs were posted. On weekends, the police captain, with the help of local citizens would set up a speed trap consisting of one man with a signal flag, another man at a certain known distance with a stop watch and two men with a flag attached to the center of a long rope. If a driver was suspected of speeding, the mileage was computed and a signal was sent ahead. The men with the rope would pull it tautly across the roadway, stopping the alleged speeder. According to several sources, the system became so notorious that a sign was posted on the Brooklyn Bridge alerting Long-Island-bound motorists to "Beware of Amityville."

PRIDE AND COMMITMENT

There was, and remains today, a sense of pride in serving in the department. Over the years new appointments earned a headline in the RECORD. On January 28, for example, as the Village celebrated its 50th anniversary of incorporation, a headline read that William P. Stauf was appointed. Stauf of Park Avenue, was named temporary patrolman by the Village board at a salary of $2,000 a year. The appointment brought the force up to 10 men.

Making headlines in the RECORD, too, was the move by the Amityville Village Board in l927 firing the entire department and rehiring them on a month-to-month basis. The motion, on June l5, was met with heckling and Justice of the Peace Lapsley, at that time also a board member who opposed the majority vote led by Mayor John F. Louden, walked out of the meeting in protest.

The decision to rescind an earler resolution establishing the department was offered to meet what Louden said were complaints by "the public at large about the inefficiency of the men" and the Village’s inability to discipline and regulate their conduct as a department. That decision was eventually rescinded and the department was reformed.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

For more than a century, local families have handed down the call to police service from one generation to another. The Compitellos, the Smiths, Pescitellis—and many more families have woven into their histories a tradition of police work in the community in which they have lived.

"It was always a close group of guys. Many of us graduated from Amityville High School and were athletes," said Thomas Compitello, a former Amityville Police Officer and now the Inspector of the Suffolk County Police Department’s First Precinct.

Compitello’s father, Louis "Buster", Compitello entered the department following WWI and retired in 1955. Also serving were Thomas E. (Ike,) , Dick and Donald Competello.

A VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE

Amityville is one of a handful of communities that voted more than 30 years ago to remain independent and not to become part of the newly formed Suffolk County Police Department. In fact, Amityville voted twice to keep its own department, the second time more resoundingly than the first.

The first vote came in 1958 when Suffolk County residents were being asked to approve the county’s charter. That charger included a provision to establish a countywide police district. In communities, like Amityville where there was a small, existing department, the proposition was split; one asked for approval of the charter; the other whether the residents wanted their police department absorbed by the newly created county department.

Amityville residents said no, however, and a year later the question was raised again in a second public referendum.

"There was a lot of confusion about the idea," said James Caples Jr., of Amityville who was at that time a sergeant in Amityville and president of the Patrolman’s Benevolent Association (PBA), which supported the change.

"The board was unanimously opposed to the idea of going with the county, but I think to their credit, they decided to give residents another chance at the vote," said Caples.

This time, public meetings were held at the Amityville High School and speakers for both sides were present, including Amityville’s mayor George Kennedy and the newly appointed County Police Commissioner Charles R. Thom. Then, armed with all the facts needed to make an informed decision, Amityville went to the polls again in November, 1959—and again voted by an even wider margin to retain their own police department.

At that time the department consisted of approximately 15 men, more than half of whom supported the county department and saw it as offering career opportunities not available to them in a small department like Amityville. Again, to their credit, said Caples, the Amityville Village Board gathered the group. Ironically, Caples father was on the board and chairman of the police committee.

"They didn’t want any unhappy employees and told us that they would work for an orderly transfer of personnel. I think that in about six months all of the officers who wanted to go, were transferred to the county," said Caples.

Caples, who eventually rose to the rank of Commissioner for the Suffolk County Police Department, said that despite the differences of opinion, the Village, its officials, residents and police always maintained a respect for each other. "The Village and its people have always supported their police department," said Caples. "And we appreciated that. It was just that the county police department offered the kind of advancement and diversification that a village department couldn’t offer."

The decision by the people of Amityville is one they support to today, and one that most would agree would be upheld if another referendum were on the ballot this November. Most believe they have the best of both worlds.

"The response time for the Village Police Department is much quicker than for the Suffolk County Police Department," said Walter Saxton, a lifelong Amityville resident and Village Justice. Saxton said that he believes smaller local departments like Amityville’s are able to provide a personalized service that is not possible on a broader level. "The bigger you get, the further away from home base, the less service you get," said Saxton. "And that goes for all government institutions."

But does smaller mean less professional and more politicized as some critics point out? Not so, said Amityville’s Police Chief, Kenneth Greguski. "There’s politics no matter where you are and no matter what size your organization is, but we manage to work around it and do our job," said Greguski.

Greguski added that small departments in Nassau and Suffolk have the advantage of utilizing the county’s’ police academies for training personnel both at the beginning of their careers and during tenures. "We are as well trained and professional as any other town or county department," said Greguski. "And we have the added measure of being close to the community which is very important."

There will probably always be healthy competition between the departments, especially considering the close ties they have, but that has not interfered with the cooperation exchanged.

"We call on them and at times they call on us," said Greguski referring to the Suffolk County Police Department.

"There’ a a close relationship between the two departments and we work well together," said Compitello, adding that he believes a county department has the advantage of being able to do more that various smaller departments.

"It’s the personal touch that makes the difference," said Woodrow Cromarty, Amityville’s Police Lieutenant. "When you go to work you know the people you are serving and when you go home, you don’t disappear, you’re still on call. It’s really public service."

That kind of a "vested interest" philosophy was solidified in 1986 when the Village, under Mayor Victor Niemi,and the Village Board, enacted a residential requirement for all Village employees, including its police officers.

THE PRICE OF PERSONALIZED SERVICE

Amityville Village residents pay more for police service than those utilizing the Suffolk County Police Department. Approximately 40 percent of the Village’s 6.3 million budget goes for funding the Amityville Village Police Department. In addition, Village residents pay approximately a two percent headquarters charge on their county tax rate. Those include services the county provides to all residents whether they are in the police district or not, such as detective, aviation and district attorney services.

But, they also get more. In addition to the response time and personalized service provided by the Amityville Village Police, there are more patrols and closer enforcement. The Village, which is about half the size of Lindenhurst, for example, has three patrol officers on duty at any given time. Under the county department, Lindenhurst has two patrol officers, sometimes down to one and a half.

—P.O. Anthony Zirpolo helped research this story

Amityville Record, March, 1994