Officer who sued was a top OT earner, Hempstead Village says

A Hempstead Village official said Tuesday a cop suing the village and its police department for allegedly denying him opportunities to work overtime was the fifth-highest overtime earner on the 112-member force last year.

The federal civil rights lawsuit, brought by Officer Matthew Drew, alleges department leaders offered Drew less discretionary overtime because he is a white man.

Village spokesman Sedgwick Easley said Tuesday Drew earned $52,165 in overtime in 2019, making him the fifth-highest overtime earner on the force and the fourth highest in the patrol division.

“It contradicts his claim of bias in the police department,” Easley said.

Drew’s Garden City attorney, Jason L. Abelove, said “close to 100%” of Drew’s overtime earnings in 2019 was for non-discretionary overtime.

The complaint also alleges another member of the force put a “‘KKK’ style hood” on Drew’s locker in August 2018 and that the department did not fulfill Drew’s request to investigate the incident.

Easley said the Nassau County’s District Attorney and Police Department are currently investigating the incident.

Abelove said he is not aware of any such investigation.

A police department spokesman said the department responded to the incident at the time, but the DA took over the investigation. A DA spokesman declined to comment.