An upstate town was left completely unguarded when the bulk of the Deerpark Police Department hung out together - at Hooters, officials said yesterday.

The Hooters, a sports bar known for its buffalo wings and buxom, scantily clad waitresses, is at least a 35-minute drive away from the Orange County town of nearly 8,000 citizens.

"There was not ample coverage because of personnel reasons," Deerpark Police Chief Bill Werner admitted to the Times Herald-Record of Middletown.

Most of Deerpark's 18 cops went to the Hooters in Franklin, N.J., last Thursday.

Even more embarrassing was a handwritten flyer that circulated among the department's male officers advising of the "Hooter's Run" and telling anyone interested to notify Werner.

"All invited!" the note declared.

It was unclear if the invitation was extend to the department's three female cops.

Werner blamed the brouhaha on a scheduling snafu. He said two cops were scheduled to work the night of the Hooters outing. But one of the cops had been suspended and the other would not work the shift alone.

A state police trooper was on call to cover the town Thursday night in case of an emergency. None apparently occurred.

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