Town’ leadership integrity under question over handling of police chief crash

Greece, New York — Sunday afternoon Greece Town Supervisor candidate Jim Leary issued a statement in response to the Monroe County District Attorney’s investigation of the police car crash involving Greece police chief Andrew Forsythe.

According to Leary, identifying himself as a career police officer, the initial aftermath of the crash raises serious concerns about the integrity of the town leadership, and he questions why Supervisor Bill Reilich failed to act responsibly for his department employees.

Leary is challenging Republican incumbent Bill Reilich in this year’s election on Nov. 2.

“This is a police officer’s nightmare, to be called to the scene of an incident involving your department head. Why didn’t Supervisor Reilich make certain that state police were summoned as the incident occurred on a state highway?” the statement reads.

“If an investigation by the district attorney has been merited, elements of this crash must raise serious questions. If so, why has Bill Reilich not yet acted to preserve justice and the integrity of the town’s police department and placed Forsythe on limited duties until investigators reach a conclusion?” the statement continues.

Chief Forsythe was involved in an accident in the early hours of Thursday morning as he was trying to avoid a deer on 390 and hit a guardrail, according to the Greece PD spokesman.

Greece PD responded to it and investigated the accident. Responding officers did not check for drunk driving. Saturday evening, the Monroe County DA’s office announced it was launching an investigation into the crash.