On-Duty Pine Plains police officer resigns after Route 199 crash

PINE PLAINS — An on-duty Pine Plains police officer who was involved in a July 6 crash has resigned from the department, Town Board members were told during their July 15 meeting.

Officer Brian Johnson's resignation comes after he struck a 2003 Lincoln while he was traveling on Route 199 on July 6. According to State Police, Johnson failed to stop in time, totaling the vehicle.

The two occupants of the Lincoln sustained minor injuries. Johnson and Officer Aaron L. Fantroy, who was riding in the passenger seat of the patrol vehicle, were transported to Northern Dutchess Hospital. Fantroy was later transferred to Albany Medical Center for additional treatment.

State Police determined the crash was non-criminal. Investigators cited driver inattention or distraction as the cause, though they found Johnson was not using a cell phone or the patrol car's in-car computer immediately before the collision.

During the meeting, Officer John L. Hughes confirmed Johnson's resignation from the Pine Plains Police Department. Johnson was a recent graduate of the New York State Police Academy. It is unclear whether his resignation was related to the crash.

EMS response data questioned

The board’s agenda also included an EMS update from Pine Plains Rescue Squad 2nd Lt. Nelson Zayas. Zayas noted that Dutchess County has yet to release any reports or analysis on EMS calls in 2026. The county had previously released quarterly reports in 2025 that detailed EMS response times and responding agencies. Zayas’ own statistics were pulled from raw data he has collected over the course of the past year.

As he did in April, Zayas said county data on response times and non-response rates does not account for situations in which volunteer EMTs respond directly to a scene without utilizing an ambulance.

Of the second quarter’s 65 emergency calls received by Pine Plains Rescue Squad, 12 categorized EMS as late — meaning the response took more than nine minutes — or unresponsive. Zayas argues that number is actually three, and gave an accounting of each specific call. In some cases, ambulances were beaten to the scene by EMS volunteers. In others, a vehicle was out of service for repairs.

“I’m trying to give the public a view of what’s going on behind the scenes,” Zayas said, “and that things are not actually as bad as they look on paper.”