New York town left copless due to scheduling, trip to Hooters

The Orange County, New York, town of Deerpark has a little under 10,000 residents and a police force of 18 officers. With a full-time police department, the citizens expect police protection in return for their tax dollars. During a normal evening, two of those officers are on duty.

But last Thursday evening, there were no police officers on duty. None. Zero. Nada. So how did that happen?

One of the officers that was supposed to work that evening was on suspension pending an internal investigation. For unknown reasons, Chief Bill Werner did not replace the suspended officer.

That left one part-time officer on the schedule, who backed out because he did not feel comfortable working alone.

Calling in an off-duty officer at the last minute wasn't possible, because every off-duty officer - three carloads worth - had gathered that evening for a little rest and relaxation at a Hooters in Franklin, New Jersey.

While the department has taken a lot of criticism for the Hooters gathering, it must be noted all those officers were off-duty and no rules were violated. What is not known is why the schedule wasn't adjusted to replace the officer who was on suspension.

A New York state trooper wound up covering Deerpark along with another town. (WCBS-TV)