Back on March 27, 2020, a fatal shooting of a black man happened in Newburgh. According to reporting, the man had a gun, and the police had walked up to him to ask about a shooting that allegedly happened the day before. They got into an altercation, he was shot, and later died at the hospital. An officer was also shot and wounded. The shooting is under investigation by the District Attorney, and will be completed in 4-6 months. At this point, the man’s name for identification has not appeared in news stories.

After that shooting, a riot broke out on First Street and Carpenter Avenue. Back in Beacon, it was a regular Friday afternoon, and those who work in Newburgh came home after work to tell the story as they knew it.

After the work day ended, trash burned in the street long into the night. According to News12, the city brought in mutual aid from the state and county police. Many pictures of the night from photojournalist Allyse Pulliam were published for the Record Online.

The next day, Saturday, The Mayor of Newburgh, Mayor Torrance Harvey, called a press conference to ask for peace, saying: “I’m asking for peace in the streets and calm in our community. I know there is a lot of grief and anger,” as reported in the Record Online. Neighbors who were cleaning up the debris the next day did not want to talk, according to the Record Online.

One week later, Newburgh’s Police Chief, Doug Solomon, was suspended “after allegedly failing to report for duty during last week's riots,” according to News12.

One month later, on April 30, 2020, Chief Solomon resigned. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Mayor Harvey “could not share details of the resignation because it is a personnel issue.” Lt. Kevin Lahar remains the “officer in charge” of the department.

Fast forward to last weekend in Beacon during the 3rd anti-police brutality protest in Beacon, the Newburgh shooting was alluded to by protest participants, with protestors bitterly mentioning that they knew of an “incident” about the shooting, but so far, no details have emerged.

Meanwhile in Newburgh, Lt. Kevin Lahar participated in the police brutality protest, and kneeled with protesters. You can read more about that, and see photos here at Record Online.

Chief Doug Solomon’s History With Beacon

Chief Solomon was the Chief of Police for Beacon, before leaving to take the position in Newburgh. At the time, then Mayor Randy Casale had no prior news of the departure, and learned about it on the radio, he said during a public City Council meeting. At the time of accepting the job in Newburgh, Chief Solomon had also been the Mayor of the Village of Monticello. He later resigned from the position of Mayor, citing time conflicts and being over-committed. He had previously served as the Police Chief for Monticello, according to the Record Online.

Then Captain Kevin Junjulas for Beacon was promoted by Mayor Casale to be Chief of Police for Beacon. The transition was dramatic, and you can read about the announcement of that appointment here in the Highlands Current. According to the article, Chief Junjulas was a then 23-year veteran of the police department, and resides in Cold Spring.

Chief Solomon was on the original committee for Beacon Speaks Out a community-based group that “was born out of a meeting called on and facilitated by Mayor Casale,” recalls Brooke Simmons, co-founder of the non-profit Beacon Speaks Out. According to Brooke, through the beginning of 2015, residents of Beacon, NY had been “meeting to discuss their hopes and ambitions for police/community relations in their city. What emerged is a clear desire for closer ties between the police and the community they serve and protect.”