Rodney K. Harrison’s two-year tenure as Suffolk police commissioner, which included the arrest of a suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders 13 years after the bodies of four women were discovered off Ocean Parkway, officially ended Friday.
Harrison also implemented the department’s 1,000-page reform plan, which included the rollout of a departmentwide body camera program, and forged deep relationships with community leaders during his stint as Suffolk’s top cop. He did not return a request for comment Friday. County spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said it was his last day.
“I took pride in being the police commissioner of Suffolk County,” Harrison said during an interview earlier this month with Newsday.
Harrison, 54, was the first Black police commissioner in the Suffolk County Police Department’s 63-year history. Deputy Commissioner Risco Mention-Lewis will serve as acting commissioner until the end of the year. County Executive-elect Edward Romaine is expected to name a successor soon.
Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said last week that his office is investigating allegations made by Suffolk Legis. Robert Trotta that Harrison falsified time sheets to receive a larger payout. Harrison denied Trotta’s claims, calling them “wild and baseless allegations by a politician.” Trotta, a vocal critic of the police department and its unions, was removed from the legislature’s public safety committee in March after he threatened to play a recording of a private conversation with Harrison.
Tierney’s office has not commented on the time sheet investigation since announcing it last week.
Tracey Edwards, the Long Island regional director of the NAACP and a member of the panel that crafted the police reform plan, called Harrison a “transformational” law-enforcement official who understood the importance of community engagement. She also praised his efforts to diversify the department’s recruiting classes.
“He was transformational in that he understood…
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