Charges including public lewdness to be dropped against former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke
Prosecutors confirmed Wednesday that the case will be dismissed in six months due to issues stemming from the departure of officers involved.
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Charges against former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke are set to be dropped, following the resignation and dismissal of several law enforcement officers tied to his arrest.
Prosecutors confirmed Wednesday that the case will be dismissed in six months due to issues stemming from the departure of officers involved. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, three park police officers connected to the case resigned, including the officer who allegedly observed the criminal conduct.
Burke was arrested in August 2023 after an incident at Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park on Bald Hill. Authorities accused him of exposing himself and charged him with offering a sex act, public lewdness, indecent exposure, and criminal solicitation.
As previously reported by News 12, investigators said Burke approached an undercover park ranger who was assigned to investigate complaints of people soliciting sex at the park. Authorities at the time said Burke attempted to use his former position as police chief to avoid arrest and made a lewd remark to the ranger before being taken into custody.
Court filings state that disclosures required under New York law revealed the prosecution would be unable to meet its burden of proof at trial.
“The charges will be dropped in 6 months, with no further action by any party," said Burke’s attorney, James O’Rourke. "As the DA stated in court, the officers who made this arrest, 2 of whom were discharged and one resigned, could not produce evidence warranting a conviction."
Burke served as Suffolk County police chief from 2012 to 2015. During that time, he was involved in the early Gilgo Beach serial killer investigation and prevented the FBI from joining the case.
He later served more than three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a handcuffed man suspected of stealing items, including sex toys, from Burke’s police vehicle.
