By Delia DeRiggi-Whitton
In recent months, Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman has pursued a number of controversial measures that, in addition to likely being unconstitutional, carry with them a number of unintended consequences that will negatively impact our police and first responders.
The most glaring of those actions is the County Executive’s provisional emergency special deputy sheriff program. Known more commonly as the “militia” – this misguided initiative has sparked tremendous concern across various local police departments. Even as the first classes of “militia” cadets have now graduated and are in the process of being activated, our concerns about their training, how they will be identified, and how and when these deputies can and will be deployed remain unaddressed by the Blakeman administration, which continues to stonewall the Democratic Minority and the public.
The Republican Majority’s public mask ban, which was eagerly signed into law by the County Executive, is another piece of legislation that places our police officers in highly precarious situations. Under this measure, it is up to the officer to determine the “intent” of the person who is wearing the mask. This would expose our officers to thorny constitutional and medical privacy issues under the Fifth Amendment and HIPAA laws. Moreover, there is the risk that a sick person could feel pressured to remove their mask, thereby exposing the officers and the public to COVID or some other airborne disease.
To address concerns about constitutionality and practicality, the Minority Caucus proposed a more narrowly tailored mask law – the Masked Crime Accountability Act - that reduces the burden upon our law enforcement officers by focusing specifically on punishing those who use masks while committing criminal acts. While our bill is a clearer deterrent to crime, the Republican Majority pushed through their version of the law without considering public concerns or the potential consequences.
For both of these measures, there is the issue of how effectively they can be enforced – if at all. The same goes for the County Executive’s banning of transgender female athletes utilizing County sports facilities, which, like the mask ban, is being challenged in court. How is an officer, having been called to one of the situations created by these laws, expected to proceed? How rigorously should an officer attempt to verify a person’s claim that they qualify for an exemption under the mask ban? How can a law enforcement professional navigate a heated confrontation over claims that a young athlete is violating the County’s ban on trans athletes? Are we going to start interrogating athletes over their gender identity? It is all a recipe for disaster and even more lawsuits against the County - litigation that you, the taxpayer, will end up footing the bill for.
With budget season now upon us in Nassau County, I believe it is essential to analyze these controversial measures through a third lens – police overtime. When we consider possible impacts upon law enforcement professionals, we must factor in how these measures could further burden our officers and increase their workloads. This should be also considered alongside how certain proposals could elevate overtime costs in their own right.
Before Nassau County clears the way for a casino or any other major development or legislative initiative that could be a significant driver for overtime, we would be wise to commission a thorough evaluation. Specific to the casino, initial projections of $1.8 million being sufficient to cover the resulting overtime – which is just a quarter of 1 percent of our current overtime budget – seem far-fetched in my opinion.
A rigorous review would go a long way toward revealing the true and accurate costs so that law enforcement agencies not only serving the County, but those in Nassau County’s cities and villages, can budget wisely and gear their training resources toward addressing each and every one of these new endeavors.
Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, of Glen Cove, is the Democratic Minority Leader of the Nassau County Legislature and represents 11th Legislative District.