(MINEOLA, N.Y.) – In March 2024, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced an initiative to recruit firearm-owning residents to serve as nonunion “special deputy sheriffs” to be mobilized during emergencies. Members of the coequal County Legislature, along with police union leaders, were given no advance knowledge of the initiative, which was advertised only through a legal notice in Newsday
Following the announcement, Nassau County Legislator Seth I. Koslow (D – Merrick) issued the following statement:
“Nassau County has a lot of problems: a longstanding detective shortage, a financially insolvent safety-net hospital, and a lethargic assessment system,” Nassau County Legislator Seth I. Koslow (D – Merrick) said. “Instead of addressing those real problems, the County Executive continues to roll out inane solutions to imaginary issues. Nassau’s police are some of the finest in the nation. They definitely do not need untrained residents inserting themselves into their serious work – especially during a state of emergency.”