MINEOLA, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — After stating in March that he was looking to deputize armed residents in the case of a county-wide emergency like a natural disaster, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman officially launched the controversial security plan this week.
Applicants of the Provisional Emergency Special Deputy Sheriffs program, which Blakeman began in association with county Sheriff Anthony LaRocco, had to meet various requirements , including being a Nassau resident between the ages of 21 and 72 who owns property or a business in the county.
Those chosen to move forward also had to possess a pistol license, pass a background check, random drug testing and receive a fit-for-duty letter from a doctor.
Among the 25 already-trained deputies are a retired NYPD inspector, retired marine sergeant and a licensed armed guard, alongside the majority of those on the team who have a law enforcement or military background.
Blakeman plans to recruit and train another 50 deputies by the end of the year. He said that their use, which would earn them a $150 stipend if called to duty, “would only be in an emergency,” in accordance with New York State County Law 655 .
The law states that “For the protection of human life and property during an emergency, the sheriff may deputize orally or in writing such number of additional special deputies as he deems necessary.”
In a Blakeman-declared emergency, the provisional deputies would join the 60 deputy sheriffs already serving the New York City suburb who enforce state and county laws.
The provisional deputies would focus their efforts on protecting critical infrastructure like government buildings and hospitals, but would not be used for crowd control or breaking up protests as they are not trained to patrol streets, Blakeman said.
Emergencies would entail natural disasters, "Like we saw with Superstorm Sandy, when people couldn't get to work. Government buildings, hospitals, schools were left unprotected," Blakeman told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880
“Let's say for instance, one of our hospitals, if their security didn't show up and they contacted us and said, ‘Look, we're unprotected at the hospital,’ rather than send police over, we could have our provisional special deputies to go over there in the event of an emergency,” he explained.
The move by Blakeman—a Trump loyalist and Republican who has been ingrained in controversy following his issuance of an executive order to ban transgender athletes in the county—has been compared to the establishment of a personal militia.
Deloa DeRiggi-Whitton, Democratic minority leader for the County Legislature, told the New York Times that the plan is “fear-mongering, and it’s very damaging to people.”
“It’s the opposite way we want to be going, a private militia with guns,” she said. “We’re trying to work on gun control, rather than promote them.”
Protesters were outside the executive building on Friday, arguing that active police officers—to the number of 2,600 in Nassau County—should be able to handle any emergency situation themselves.
Local Democrats and parents have pointed out the safety flaws in citizens with significantly less training than active law enforcement agents having guns and the authority to use them.
Provisional deputies receive 12 hours of classroom instruction and practice on the firing range in their training, whereas Nassau County’s unarmed auxiliary officers receive 150 hours of instruction and it takes seven months to become a graduated member of the Nassau County Police Department.
But Blakeman stands by the program, stating that the county needs to be ready for whatever comes its way.
“God forbid, we do have to mobilize, that I'm not scrambling around at the last minute looking for qualified people or willing to serve,” Blakeman said in defense of the provisional deputies. “So a lot of people have tried to say it's a militia and I think that it's really denigrating.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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