NYS Trooper Made Up Details Relating To 2017 DWI Case: SCDA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A New York State Trooper who allegedly committed perjury relating to the 2017 arrest of someone for driving while intoxicated was indicted, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini announced Thursday. Kevin Tunney, 33, of Kings Park, is the officer facing charges.

"Any law enforcement officer who lies under oath is not only committing a felony, but is
violating the trust placed in him by the people he is sworn to protect and serve," Sini said via press release. "It is our job as law enforcement to seek the truth and deliver justice; any dereliction of that duty undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system and will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. I thank the New York State Police for their assistance in investigating this matter and holding this individual accountable."

Tunney was charged with three counts of first-degree perjury (a D felony), three counts of second-degree perjury (an E felony), three counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing (an E felony), two counts of making a punishable false written statement (an A misdemeanor), and three counts of second-degree falsifying business records (an A misdemeanor). Tunney, who joined the New York State Police in 2014, was suspended from the department.

On Nov. 1, 2017, Tunney arrested someone in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven store at
59 Bay Shore Road in Bay Shore and charged them with DWI, aggravated DWI and failure to maintain lane, Sini said. In the arrest paperwork, Tunney stated that he was driving his police car on Bay Shore Road when he saw the person driving directly in front of him, Sini said. He stated that he saw the driver swerve over the center double-yellow line twice before abruptly making a right turn into an exit-only driveway of the 7-Eleven parking lot, Sini said.

On Jan. 18, 2019, Tunney testified as a witness during a pretrial hearing in the driver's case
in First District Court in Central Islip, Sini said. In his testimony, he recounted the same observations of the driver's vehicle from the night of the arrest in November 2017, Sini said.

The District Attorney’s office then watched surveillance footage from the 7-Eleven on
the night of the arrest, which allegedly showed Tunney was already inside the store when the
driver arrived, and therefore could not have followed the driver on Bay Shore Road or
see any failure to maintain the lane, as he had said in the arrest paperwork and during his
testimony in the case, Sini said.

The footage also showed that the driver had entered the parking lot through the correct entrance, not through an exit-only driveway as Tunney stated, Sini said. After an investigation, which included eyewitness interviews and a review of GPS records and other relevant evidence, the grand jury returned the charges made in the indictment, Sini said.

The investigation was done by the District Attorney’s office along with the New York State Police. The case against the DWI driver was dismissed and the District Attorney’s office is looking into other cases in which Tunney was the arresting officer.

Tunney was arraigned on Thursday and released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on Jan. 7, 2020.

If Tunney is convicted of the top count, he faces a maximum sentence of 2 1/3 to seven years in prison.