Former Suffolk County police chief accused of soliciting sex at Long Island park

The disgraced former Long Island police chief who already went to prison for beating a suspect was arrested again on Tuesday for allegedly soliciting sex at a park, police said.

James Burke, 58, was arrested at Suffolk County's Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park Tuesday morning and charged with offering a sex act, public lewdness, indecent exposure and criminal solicitation, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said. The Suffolk County Park Rangers’ Targeted Response Unit carried out the arrest while patrolling the park because of several complaints they received about the area, officials said.

“Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of those areas that we've received numerous complaints about quality of life issues up there, so we're attempting to do our best to curtail that,” Steve Laton of the Suffolk County Parks Rangers said at a press conference.

Rangers in plain clothes had just gotten to the park when they encountered Burke, authorities said. An arrest report obtained by the Associated Press said Burke exposed himself to a ranger and said he was interested in oral sex.

Burke also attempted to leverage his former law enforcement position to avoid the arrest, asking the ranger if he knew who he was, officials said on Tuesday.

“He was expressing to us how this would be a public humiliation for him and such,” Suffolk County park ranger Sgt. Brian Quattrini said.

Burke was the head of the Suffolk County Police Department between 2012 and 2015, once leading the Gilgo Beach killings investigation. He resigned in late 2015 and was ultimately indicted and then pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of a handcuffed robbery suspect and orchestrating a cover-up.

An attorney for Burke could not be reached on Tuesday.