READER BELIEVES DAY’S CUTS WILL HAMPER SPECIAL UNITS AND CAUSE TOWN TAXES TO INCREASE

To the Editor,

Mr. Day must think we were born yesterday. Does he really expect us to believe that by eliminating the 37 officers on the Rockland County Sheriff’s Patrol, we will actually save money on our taxes? He says he wants to keep the “specialized units” of the Sheriff’s Department, such as the Bomb Squad, Arson Unit, Crime Scene Unit, Marine Unit, etc. It would not be fiscally possible for every town or village police department to provide these services. What Mr. Day has failed to tell you is that once the 37 positions are eliminated, due to civil service law & seniority, all members of the Marine Unit will be fired.

The bomb technicians & their K9s will be fired. Members of the county SWAT team (known as the REACT team) would be fired. The arson investigator & his K9 will be fired. Also fired would be the patrol K9 officer, who in addition to providing drug detection, tracking and much more to the entire county, patrols the county jail and is a huge deterrent to dangerous contraband being introduced into the correctional facility. In summary, Mr. Day is like a carny on the midway & we are his marks. He is playing a shell game where by eliminating 37 jobs he creates the illusion of saving us tax dollars, but in reality there will be a huge burden on the local police departments that will result in higher taxes for all of us. Imagine every town & village having to hire & train bomb techs? K9 arson investigators? Patrol K9s? A marine unit??

These are specialized units comprised of well trained officers with years of experience in their fields. You can’t take someone with zero experience in specialized fields & simply replace the officers that were fired. It will not work and it would result in higher taxes and a compromise to public safety. Come up with a better plan, Mr. Day. We are not as gullible as you think.

Sincerely,

John Murphy
Haverstraw