Greece Police Chief placed on administrative leave amid crash investigation
GREECE, N.Y. (WROC) — Investigators at the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office are currently looking into a vehicle accident involving Greece Police Chief Drew Forsythe.
Greece Town Supervisor Bill Reilich confirmed that Forsythe was officially placed on administrative leave on Sunday, three days after the incident occurred.
According to a statement from the Monroe County DA, Forsythe was driving his police-issued vehicle when the incident occurred. The Greece Police Chief suffered a minor contusion and the vehicle was totaled.
Greece Police said Forsythe allegedly swerved to avoid a deer and hit a guardrail on Route 390 Thursday at approximately 1:30 a.m.
Officers with Greece Police arrived at the scene of the accident to investigate. Forsythe was not given any sort of sobriety test and was not checked for drunk driving. Police say if there was any reason to suspect drunk driving, they would've proceeded further with a test.
When asked about the events leading up to the incident, Reilich said Forsythe may have been travelling back from a function with coworkers. He did not comment on whether alcohol was involved in the crash.
Forsythe claims he attempted to make contact with the station but couldn't do so because the radio was "damaged or switched frequencies due to impact."
He proceeded to drive to the station but was not able to make it there from the damage, according to GPD.
Despite sustaining a minor contusion, Forsythe did not go to the hospital.
In the statement released Saturday, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said in part:
"The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office was made aware that the Greece Police Chief was involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving his police issued vehicle. Nobody was injured in this accident. At this time, the Monroe County District Attorney’s office investigators will begin an investigation into this."
Greece Town Supervisor tells News 8 there’s too many moving parts in this for him not to open a full investigation. He was made aware of the situation late Thursday morning.
“He [Forsythe] came into my office and said that the night before he had an incident,” Reilich said.
Reilich says Forsythe may have been travelling back from a function with coworkers.
“I don’t know if it’s an annual party or to honor state troopers, not sure what it was, I don’t know,” Reilich said.
He says Forsythe looked bruised up. The police department says Forsythe suffered a “minor contusion.”
“And I asked if he was okay,” Reilich said. “He looked like he had a sore neck, and he said he got banged around pretty good. I asked if a police report was taken, he indicated yes, it was.”
Come Saturday morning, Reilich says he learned more details. That’s when a decision is made, in conjunction with Greece Police:
“I knew a small piece of the story, and I thought that was the whole story, and I learned later on the vehicle had been driven and what not,” Reilich said. “I just said well, this is getting more involved.”
Reilich says there’s no telling how long the DA’s investigation will last.
As for what it is they’re investigating?
“I think they’re just trying to go over from A to Z, the moment the accident occurred until conclusion,” Reilich said.
News 8 asked Reilich if he had any concerns for the police chief driving a totaled car, or if there’s concerns alcohol might be involved. Reilich declined to comment further.
News 8 also reached out to the Greece Police Union and is awaiting for response.
A statement from Reilich’s opponent for town supervisor was released Sunday afternoon. The statement can be found at this link.
Check back with News 8 WROC as we will continue to update this developing story.