A probationary police officer in the Town of Lancaster submitted his resignation late Wednesday, two days after he was charged with assaulting a 17-year-old in an off-duty incident.
His attorney confirmed that Officer Andrew T. Gill, 23, resigned from the town police force.
“This was a very difficult decision. He greatly enjoyed being a police officer,” Gill’s attorney, Patrick J. Brown, told The Buffalo News. “He has tremendous respect for the people of Lancaster, and he knows his situation was causing distress for a lot of people.”
Monday, police filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Gill, based on a complaint by a town teenager, Justin Mangold, who said Gill attacked and injured him during a New Year’s party at a home on Via Donato Drive.
Town officials said Tuesday that they were trying to decide whether to suspend or terminate Gill, who began working in the department about two weeks before the alleged Jan. 1 assault.
Mangold had told police that Gill began punching him in the face, without provocation, during a “beer pong” drinking game at the New Year’s party. Mangold’s attorneys, Scott F. Riordan and David S. Kelly, said Mangold suffered a broken nose, black eyes and facial injuries that required hospital treatment.
Gill’s attorney said Gill hit Mangold as a “defensive” measure after the teen moved toward him.
Riordan contended that Gill received lenient treatment from the town because his father, Gerald J. Gill, is a lieutenant in the department’s Detective Bureau. That allegation was denied by Brown.
At this point, it is unlikely that Andrew Gill will pursue a police job with another department, Brown said.
“At the present time, he doesn’t anticipate doing that,” Brown said. “He’s evaluating career possibilities outside of police work.”
Authorities said the assault case is expected to be moved out of Lancaster to another jurisdiction because of the Gill family’s close association with law enforcement.
Speaking about the assault case, Brown said: “Because we don’t know what court we will be in, we’re in a holding pattern right now. We plan to fight it, unless there is some way of resolving it that is fair to all parties.”
Riordan said he is “not surprised” by Gill’s resignation, which means he won’t have a termination on his record that might be a red flag for future employers.
“Now he will be free to apply for police work somewhere else one day,” Riordan said, “and we don’t think that is right.”
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