How Detective Tina Giles of East Hampton Impacted My Life
Detective Tina Giles of the East Hampton Town Police Force just received a top honors award as the 2012 Officer of the Year for her extraordinary police work in getting one of the worst sex criminals in the history of East Hampton behind bars and her remarkable career working for the Town of East Hampton.
I don’t know if you remember, but a man in East Hampton named Fidel Castro-Brito was arrested last year, in large part thanks to the investigation by Detective Giles, on charges of criminal sex acts against three young victims. It was just one of the worst cases that anybody in East Hampton had ever heard of in recent memory, it the indictment handed down included over 70 counts of criminal sex acts. If it weren’t for Detective Giles, the extent of these crimes may not have been discovered.
Detective Giles has had a long career with the East Hampton Town Police Department, and I can remember sitting in a fifth grade classroom at Springs School and listening to her discuss the dangers of illegal drugs when she was in charge of D.A.R.E., which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. She had an impact on me. Growing up, I would see her from time to time in her police car, whether she was going through a local parade or handing out D.A.R.E. t-shirts or investigating a kid at school who was up to nothing but trouble.
During the early ’90s, Detective Giles played a huge role for the parents and kids of East Hampton and whenever I bump into her, I always feel like I’m seeing somebody who is tremendously important to our little world out here on the East End. I really can’t say enough good things about this woman. There just aren’t that many people in East Hampton who have had to be responsible for situations that involve some of the most difficult issues that face human beings, and she handles it with a quiet grace that has always commanded respect from me.
I’m happy to hear about her winning the 2012 Officer of the Year Honor. She deserves it.