The disgraced former top cop on Long Island who had been arrested in a sex solicitation sting pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces.
Former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke entered a not guilty plea Monday afternoon to the public lewdness and indecent exposure charges. Neither Burke nor his attorney offered comment while leaving court.
Burke had been arrested on Aug. 22 at Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park in Selden, after a law enforcement source told NBC New York that the county park rangers set up a sting operation at the spot. He initially faced four charges, including criminal solicitation and offering a sex act, but both of those charges were dropped, the county's police commissioner confirmed.
It was not immediately clear why those two charges were dropped against the 58-year-old.
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Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said county park rangers made the arrest at the start of an undercover operation, responding to complaints about sexual solicitation at the park. The rangers apparently had not realized, at first, they arrested the disgraced former chief of the department.
At the time of his arrest, the commissioner said Burke tried to use his name to avoid arrest, asking the officers if they knew who he was.
"He was expressing to us how this would be a public humiliation for him," Sgt. Brian Quattrini, with the park rangers, said.
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It was not the first time the former chief got in trouble with the law. He was released from federal prison in 2018 after serving time for beating a handcuffed man who stole a duffel bag from his vehicle and then trying to cover up the assault.
The former chief's name has resurfaced in recent days following the arrest of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann. Critics have long claimed Burke set back the murder investigation by refusing help from the FBI.
Burke led the Suffolk County Police Department, one of the nation’s largest police forces, between 2012 and 2015, a tumultuous three-year period that ended with the conviction of Burke and multiple other officials on federal charges of obstruction and assault.
