Blakeman’s actions bring serious risks for first responders

In recent months, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has pursued a number of controversial measures that, in addition to likely being unconstitutional, bring with them a number of unintended consequences that will negatively impact our police and first responders.

The most glaring of those actions is Blakeman’s provisional emergency special deputy sheriff program. Known more commonly as the “militia,” this misguided initiative has sparked tremendous concern in a number of 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 County Legislature’s Democratic minority and the public.

The Republican majority’s public mask ban, which Blakeman eagerly signed into law, is another piece of legislation that puts our police officers in highly precarious situations. Under this measure, it’s up to an officer to determine the “intent” of a person wearing a mask. This would expose our officers to thorny constitutional and medical privacy issues under the Fifth Amendment and HIPAA laws. Moreover, there’s 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 would reduce the burden on our law enforcement officers by focusing specifically on punishing those who use masks while committing crimes. While our bill is a clearer deterrent to crime, the Republican majority pushed through its 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 Blakeman’s banning of transgender female athletes using 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 someone’s claim that they qualify for an exemption under the mask ban? How can an officer navigate a heated confrontation over claims that a young athlete is violating the ban on trans athletes? Are we going to start interrogating athletes over their gender identity? It’s 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, I believe it is essential to analyze these controversial measures through another lens — police overtime. When we consider possible impacts on law enforcement professionals, we must factor in how these measures could further burden our officers and increase their workloads — especially as we ponder other proposals that could elevate overtime costs. Before the county clears the way for a casino or any other major development or legislative initiative that could be a significant driver of 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 one quarter of 1 percent of our current overtime budget — seem far-fetched. A rigorous review would go a long way toward revealing the true and accurate costs, so that law enforcement agencies serving not only the county, but also its cities and villages, can budget wisely and gear their training resources toward addressing every one of these new endeavors.

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton represents Nassau County’s 11th Legislative District and is the minority leader of the Legislature.