By Legislator Scott M. Davis
As a Nassau County resident and member of the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee, I believe it is important for all residents to be fully informed about County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s ill-considered appointment of Provisional Deputy Sheriffs. The program, which has become known colloquially as Blakeman’s “militia,” is unlawful, an overreach of Executive authority, and creates an unnecessary risk of liability for Nassau County.
The program, which was launched in March 2024 and is currently being challenged in State Supreme Court, seeks to allow for the appointment of armed civilian volunteers to serve as “provisional deputy sheriffs” during a declared emergency. The purported rational for enacting this law, according to County Executive Blakeman, is “to provide an extra layer of protection”. He contends that these armed civilians would be deployed only in extreme emergencies where County and local law enforcement are overwhelmed and unable to respond - in essence inserting armed volunteer civilians into the worst possible circumstances which would be challenging even for the most seasoned law enforcement professionals.
Simply put, Nassau County does not need an “extra layer of protection” from a private civilian militia in 2025. Our nearly 1.4 million residents are protected by over 22 village and city police departments, a highly trained County police force numbering nearly 2,600 officers, an Office of Emergency Management, the New York State Police and the National Guard if necessary.
These resources have led U.S. News and World Report to designate Nassau County as the safest County of its size in the United States – a designation which is clearly indicative of a robust, well-trained, staffed and equipped police department that is fully capable of addressing any emergency in the County. To date, there has been no request for additional support from armed civilians by any law enforcement agency in the County, nor has there been any indication the current police departments would be understaffed should an emergency arise.
Moreover, this annual study of more than 3,100 Counties nationwide determined that we border two Counties that similarly excel in public safety – Queens to the west (20th safest) and Suffolk to the east (22nd safest).
Not only is the program unnecessary, I believe it is unlawful. The legal authority that the County Executive has cited for forming his militia is New York County Law section 655, which provides “for protection of human life and property during an emergency, the sheriff may deputize… such number of additional special deputies as he deems necessary”. Enacted in the 1930s, this archaic law was intended for emergencies where there were inadequate law enforcement personnel for protection of human life or property - particularly in rural areas with sparse populations and small police departments that could be understaffed and overwhelmed during an emergency.
It is my belief that Nassau is not a County that this antiquated law was intended for, and that this statute does not give County Executive Blakeman the authority to deputize and marshal a force of armed civilians.
My Democratic colleagues and I have many unanswered questions regarding the core details of this program. Who trains these civilians and what does the training entail? Will members of the militia be provided with uniforms and weapons? Who do members of the militia report to? Who determines when and where they are deployed? Is Nassau County liable in the event of negligence by a member of the militia?
The residents of Nassau County deserve transparency and answers. Faced with the Blakeman administration’s refusal to communicate with the Legislators or respond to Freedom of Information requests (FOIL) regarding the militia, and the belief that the civilian militia is a misapplication of the law, the only option remaining was to file a lawsuit against Blakeman challenging the legality of his Provisional Deputy Sheriff Program and compel transparency.
For these reasons, I along with my fellow Public Safety Committee member Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Debra Mulé, filed suit in Nassau County Supreme against the Blakeman administration on Feb. 5.
Scott M. Davis, of Rockville Centre, has represented the Nassau County Legislature’s First District since 2024.