Handgun discovered in Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School was left behind by off-duty cop, officials say
A handgun left behind by a parent who is also a Suffolk County police officer and member of the school board was discovered in a lavatory Monday night at Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School, school district and police officials said.
The gun was recovered by a custodian who was cleaning the lavatory shortly before 6:15 p.m., and Suffolk police were summoned.
Suffolk PBA President Lou Civello said he communicated with the officer who left the weapon, David Samartino, after the incident and that it “shouldn't define his career.”
The school calendar shows there was a winter concert and art show at the building at 6 p.m. Monday and a special session of the Board of Education that also started at 6 p.m. Law enforcement officials said no children came into contact with the weapon.
“Upon a routine school cleaning, a member of our custodial crew found a handgun in a lavatory and immediately notified building security who worked with administration to enact an emergency protocol procedure,” read the letter from Joseph A. Steimel, superintendent of schools.
“The building principal immediately notified the police and our security began a preliminary investigation. The restroom facility was secured by our security team and no individuals were permitted in the area until the police arrived to conduct a thorough investigation,” the letter read.
An investigation found the weapon belonged to an off-duty police officer who is a parent. The officer used the bathroom shortly before the time and had inadvertently left it behind, the district said.
Suffolk County Police confirmed Tuesday that the Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating an incident during which an off-duty member of the department inadvertently left his weapon in a bathroom at the school on Monday evening.
Samartino could not immediately be reached for comment.
Civello said Tuesday that Samartino is a 23-year veteran of the SCPD.
“He served as a U.S. Marine. He is the father of two young girls in the school district and he is active in the community,” Civello said. “He serves as a school board member and an active dad, and coaches girls soccer.”
Samartino also serves on the PBA Executive Board, Civello said.
“It is an unfortunate incident but it was rectified very quickly and no students had access to the gun and he cooperated fully with security and Suffolk Police,” Civello said. “ … I know it is not something he did intentionally and he has done everything he can to mitigate the situation.”
Steven Doyle, 56, of Manorville, a parent of two in the district, said he thought the entire incident “was a disgrace.”
“For somebody in that position to bring a gun into school … it's very unsafe,” he said.
Doyle said the officer should resign from his post on the school board and questioned whether the district observed appropriate protocols.
“The biggest question is ‘Was the school put in lockdown?’ It seems that things were done differently because he was an officer,” Doyle said.
The district's letter to parents said, “This information was determined quickly, as the off-duty officer was still in the building, in the very near vicinity of the lavatory. The off-duty officer returned to the restroom area and shared the information with our security officers. The parent cooperated with our security team, as well as with the SCPD when they arrived on the scene for their investigation of the security situation.”
The letter did not identify Samartino as the parent in question.
A second letter from the superintendent Tuesday said, “ … I can now confirm that the off-duty police officer is a member of the Board of Education and that he was on campus for a BOE special session meeting last evening, coming directly from his job.”
The letter did not identify him by name, however.
The district also clarified the timeline of events, saying the weapon was found in the bathroom at approximately 6:24 p.m. and immediately reported to security, who secured the scene by 6:26 p.m.
“From there, our administrative team enacted district emergency protocols — including contacting the Suffolk County Police Department. Simultaneously, building administration alerted my office and the Board of Education of the matter, at which time the off-duty officer identified himself as the owner of the weapon and returned to the scene. All of this occurred in fluid motion over the course of approximately 15 minutes, during which time neither the weapon nor its location was accessible by anyone other than district personnel, our security team and the police on their arrival.”
District officials said that “the situation was not deemed an imminent threat and the ongoing operations of building activities remained uninterrupted, including our concert which had concluded at 6:34 p.m.”
Separately, the district confirmed it does employ armed guards.
With John Valenti
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
