A previous rural New York authorities chief, who was in charge of the Gilgo Beach murders examination priorto being sentenced to jail in 2016, was detained onceagain Tuesday after authorities stated he gotten sex from an undercover park ranger.
James Burke — the Suffolk County Police Department’s chief from 2012 to 2015 — was detained around 10: 15 a.m. at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park in Farmingville, a hamlet in Long Island. Burke, 58, was apprehended by park rangers and charged with offering a sex act, indecent directexposure, public lewdness, and criminal solicitation, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
Officials stated Suffolk County park rangers were performing an operation in plain clothing duetothefactthat of “numerous grievances about quality of life problems” and individuals obtaining sex at the park. According to an arrest report gotten by The Associated Press, Burke exposed himself to a ranger and stated he was interested in oral sex.
Burke supposedly tried to prevent arrest by leveraging his status as a previous law enforcement main, asking the rangers, “Do you understand who I am?” according to authorities. As he was being taken into custody, he informed the rangers that the arrest would be a “public embarrassment for him,” Sgt. Brian Quattrini stated.
At the time of the occurrence, Quattrini included that the ranger who apprehended Burke did not acknowledge him. Burke was then taken to a authorities station for processing.
“Additional charges might be pending and we are still presently attempting to determine if he’s still on federal probation,” Harrison stated throughout a news conference Tuesday.
The previous Suffolk County authorities chief hadactually been sentenced to federal jail in 2016 for attack and blockage of justice. After serving 40 months in jail, he was launched in April 2019.
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Who is James Burke?
After leading the Suffolk County Police Department for 3 years, Burke resigned in late 2015 priorto federal districtattorneys