Kabot plans to sue Westhampton Beach, cops

Former Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot has given official notice to the Village of Westhampton Beach and its police department that she may sue them following her arrest and subsequent acquittal of drunken driving charges during her re-election campaign.

Kabot said she believes she was politically targeted because she "took on" the Southampton police department's pension system, leading to the retirement of veteran officers to make way for lower-paid recruits, said her attorney John Ray of Miller Place. He said Westhampton Beach Police have a "symbiotic relationship" with Southampton police.

Besides the village, the notice of claim names Police Chief Raymond Dean and five officers involved in the arrest.

Westhampton Village Mayor Conrad Teller, who confirmed the notice of claim was served Tuesday, said, "The police officers did what they were supposed to do."

The notice comes three months after Kabot, 43, of Quogue, was acquitted of drunken driving charges and all but one of the other charges. Kabot paid a $200 fine on that charge, failing to obey a stop sign, said her attorney at the time, William Keahon.

Kabot, a Republican, lost her re-election bid in November 2009 to Democrat Anna Throne-Holst, by a margin of 57 percent to 42 percent.

"She suffered real loss, psychological harm and the value of her career," said Ray. "She lost the election as a result of this."

Kabot was arrested Sept. 7, 2009, by Westhampton Beach Village police after a video camera atop the patrol car showed her Toyota Camry crossed the double yellow line at one point during the late hours the night before. She was charged with driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to a breath test, failure to maintain lane and failure to stop at a stop sign, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office.