Witness Now Says She Did Not See Alleged Assault Victim Grapple

(Editor's note: at request of the victim, their name and the name of the establishment have been removed.)

After signing a deposition on Jan. 31 that states she witnessed a former Southampton Village cop and another man "fighting and choking each other out" at a bar, a Southampton woman said Sunday that she has since learned she was wrong about the second man's identity.

Retired police sergeant Darren Gagnon, 51, of Shirley, was charged that night with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, after multiple witnesses said he punched the victim, who asked not to be named, in the face and head three times. While other witnesses stated that Gagnon struck first and the victim was on the floor and unconscious before he could fight back, Deanna Annis originally told police a different story.

“Even though I was there and I saw what I thought I saw, it turned out to be a little different than my interpretation,” Annis told Patch

Annis said she saw a man put Gagnon in a headlock and she had assumed it was the victim, when, in fact, it was someone else who was breaking up the fight.

“They were quite far away, on the other end of the bar, behind the partition,” she said.

But Annis said the rest of her statement to police is accurate — that she witnessed the victim walking up and down the length of the bar saying to no one in particular things like, "I'm gonna f--- him up, smash his f------ head in."

According to police and witness depositions, it was no secret at the Southampton bar that the victim and Gagnon had been arguing. Depositions state that Gagnon was repeatedly bothering a golf course superintendent about phone calls that went unreturned, and that the victim got involved, telling Gagnon to go away.

Witnesses told police that Gagnon was acting obnoxious and yelling.

The two men argued, and at one point the bartender took the victim outside to "cool off," according to witness statements.

Annis said she thought the victim was being told to leave. "I said to my friend who was sitting next to me, 'Well I’m glad that’s over,'" she recalled.

"I still will stand by the facts that (the victim) was inappropriate and cursing ..." she said.

Not long after the victim returned from outside and apologized to other patrons, Gagnon approached again and punched the victim — knocking him unconscious — then struck him two more times, witnesses said.

According to police, Gagnon said afterward, "I thought he was about to take a swing at me so I punched him first."

the victim told a police detective that he does not recall being struck. He recalled telling Gagnon to "go back and sit on his stool and knock it off," and the next thing he knew he was on the ground.

the victim was released from Southampton Hospital two days later. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Annis said she was out at the bar with a friend, who she declined to name, during the evening of the incident. the victim, who was acquainted with her friend, bought them drinks, Annis told police.

Annis knew Gagnon before that night, and knew he was a former cop. “I saw Darren come in, he sat two seats down from me, and I did not see him start anything ...” she said. "I saw him buy a box in the football pool and minding his own business.”

Annis said that while everyone else seemed to be saying Gagnon was entirely at fault, she felt she had to stand up for him after witnessing the victim's behavior inside the bar. But she said she plans to contact police to revise her deposition, to state that it was not the victim she saw grappling with Gagnon.

“Unfortunately, that’s why people make bad witnesses, because I just assumed it was the man who was yelling and saying all these weird things to no one in particular," Annis said. "That doesn’t happen often inside (the bar).”

James McNally, of Water Mill, stated in his deposition that he was one of the people who pulled Gagnon off the victim. McNally said Gagnon "started challenging everyone and that's when 911 was called."