Shelter Island Reporter Profile: Dave McGayhey, protecting and defending the Island since 1985

There have been two homicides in Shelter Island history and in his 40 years of service, Police Officer David McGayhey responded to both. 

When he was off-duty one day in 1998, he responded to a call for back-up and found himself at the scene of a crime with a contained, but still-armed homicide suspect.  Decades later he responded to the home in Silver Beach where the Reverend Paul Wancura was found bound and severely injured. He describes himself as a guy who doesn’t necessarily like to volunteer for things, but when called upon, he will do his best to help. He retired this year with a record of showing up when the going gets tough.

On a sunny spring day, Mr. McGayhey talked about his long history with Shelter Island. His wife Pat was nearby, to offer helpful details as needed. 

“From when I was a kid, I wanted to be a police officer,”  Dave said. His brother Don was a part-time Shelter Island policeman before Dave joined the force, and his younger sister Patty is a police officer farther west on Long Island.  He has four other siblings, Gail living in Kentucky, and three living on the Island, Gary and Jim McGayhey and Debbie Salazar.

When Dave was 12, his father passed away, and later, his mother Beatrice McGayhey married William Dickerson, who ran Dickerson Electric. Dave and his stepbrother Steve Dickerson ran Dickerson Electric together after Bill Dickerson retired in 1990.

Graduating from Shelter Island High School in 1982, Dave went to SUNY Delhi for a two-year electrical program and graduated at the top of his class. He returned to the Island to work at Dickerson Electric. 

His childhood aspiration to become a policeman came true in 1985, after George Ferrer, who was chief of police at the time, sent four local men to the Suffolk County Police Academy: Bill Hannabury, Jay Card, Patrick Gleason and Dave McGayhey.

Dave started out working part-time. “I did a lot of jail guard duty and transports, prisoners to jail in Riverhead, and to the hospitals. We still have just two cells.” He came to be known as the policeman who worked in big storms, the go-to guy in the department when power lines fell, or electrical problems surfaced, and did a lot of follow-ups with PSEG and LIPA.

In1986, Dave met Pat, a teller at North Fork Bank and they married in 1988. “I knew one of the other tellers that worked there so I had some inside information,” he recalled. “So, I got brave and asked her out.” Later he found out that she thought he was his brother, Don, when she agreed to a first date. 

“And then she didn’t realize how old I was,” he said.  

They met for dinner in Greenport. Dave saw a sign saying no one 23 or under was allowed in. “I was 22. First thing I said to her was, ‘Boy, I’m glad I was able to get in here.’”

 What do you mean? she asked. 

“The sign says no one 23 and under,” Mr. McGayhey said. 

“Well, how old are you?”

Dave and Pat McGayhey just celebrated their 37th anniversary. In 1990 they had their first child Kaitie (Kaitlyn) and in 1994 their second child, Kelsey. Both girls went to school here for K-12 and away for college. Kaitie is now a grade schoolteacher in Baltimore, and Kelsey — one of the best athletes the Island has ever produced — went to school for massage therapy and now practices on the Island.

Police work in a small town that becomes a larger town in the summer presents dynamic challenges. “It’s tough, especially if you’re born and raised here. You deal with people that you know. Sometimes it helps to calm the situation down when you can talk to the person because you know them and can give them insight to what may happen if they go further with whatever problem they’re having.”

He says the more recent arrivals are a little different. “You got a lot more affluent people here now. I think a lot of people seem like they’re entitled, whether it’s their wealth or whatever. That affects a police officer being able to deal with them, if they think they can do anything they want.”

The accidental death of his stepbrother, and business partner, Steve Dickerson, in 2021 was a family tragedy. “Things are going to happen in life that are out of your control, and you just must deal with it. And I think, being a police officer, it makes you deal with it a little bit easier.”

Now that Dave has retired from the police, he’s carrying on the family business, Dickerson Electric, and Pat works at M. Wein Real Estate. They recently moved to Greenport, just a short walk from the ferry, which has provided him a little space from his 40 years of policing Shelter Island.  

“I really enjoy living in Greenport now. I never really thought I would, but I do. Here, not everyone knows me, and there are some people you don’t want to bump into.”

Lightning round — Dave McGayhey

What do you always have with you?  My watch and wallet.

Favorite place on Shelter Island?  Bluff Avenue in the Heights, looking out over the water.

Favorite place not on Shelter Island? The North Fork.

When was the last time you were elated? March 28, the day I retired.

What exasperates you? When people don’t use common sense.

When was the last time you were afraid? During one of the hurricanes we were out on the road patrolling when a tree hit the car.

Favorite sports/teams?  The Mets and the Giants.

What is the best day of the year on Shelter Island? Labor Day.

Favorite movie? ‘The Godfather.’

Favorite food? Steak.

Favorite person, living or dead, who is not a member of the family? George Ferrer, former Shelter Island Chief of Police.

Most respected elected official? Ronald Reagan