NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer residents, saying it amounts to an “illegal, taxpayer-funded civilian militia.”
Nassau County Democratic lawmakers argue in their complaint filed Wednesday that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman lacked the legal authority to form a cadre of special sheriff's deputies with “authority to use deadly force and make arrests under color of law.”
They say state law authorizes local sheriffs to deputize only trained law enforcement officers from other agencies in emergencies — not private citizens.
“New York State law is clear: only professional, sworn officers can wield police powers,” said Kelner, whose firm Kelner & Kelner filed the lawsuit on behalf of Democratic lawmakers. “Blakeman’s militia is illegal and a clear threat to public safety."
Democrats, who are the minority in the county legislature, also complain Blakeman's office has ignored their public records requests seeking basic details of the program, including who is being recruited, the scope of their training, the specific weapons they will carry and the total taxpayer cost of the program.
Blakeman didn't immediately respond to the secrecy claims, but in a statement dismissed the suit as “frivolous" and suggested Democrats were defaming the volunteer deputies, many of whom are retired military and law enforcement officers.
He has said the armed deputies are required to be licensed gun owners, must complete 12 hours of classroom instruction and practice on the firing range.
He's also stressed the deputies would only be called on when the county, located just east of the New York City borough of Queens, faces a natural disaster or other major emergency.
The deputies would be assigned to protect government buildings, hospitals and critical infrastructure, and not be used to quell protests or patrol streets, as Democrats and other critics have suggested, according to Blakeman.
A spokesperson for the county didn’t provide an update Wednesday but as of last summer about two dozen had completed training with plans to have about 50 total in place.
Democrats, in their suit, note the county already has one of the largest local police forces in the nation, with some 2,600 sworn officers. State troopers also serve Nassau County and dozens of local villages have their own police forces.
The county can also call up hundreds of unarmed civilian volunteers through the Nassau County Auxiliary Police and the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Community Emergency Response Team, according to the litigation.
"Defendants have not publicly explained how a group of less than one hundred armed civilians would materially aid the thousands of trained, registered, sworn, and armed police and peace officers available to meet the needs of Nassau County residents in the event of an emergency," the lawsuit states. “Authorizing minimally trained private citizens to wield force on behalf of the government – and during an emergency no less – poses clear and obvious safety risks, both to trained law enforcement and the public at large.”
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Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press
