Partnership with county sheriff for policing debated

Fearing increased ICE-related enforcement and over policing, Monroe residents and other interested parties voiced their objection to a possible partnership between the Town of Monroe and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for the provision of police services to the town.

During a public hearing held at the Oct. 6 Monroe Town Board meeting, several speakers said that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has been collaborating with ICE agents and that partnering with the agency would place the community’s immigrant and minority population at risk.

Rabbi Roger Lerner, who is the spiritual leader of Monroe Temple, shared that he was contacted by a resident, whom he identified as Hispanic with a green card, who didn’t want to attend the board meeting out of fear. Lerner added that this was not the first time he heard of a resident being afraid to go out in public.

“This is a shame and a black mark on our country as a whole, that our citizens, people who are or immigrants who are here legally are afraid to participate in our society,” said Lerner, who further suggested that engaging the County Sheriff for policing would create an atmosphere of fear.

Resident Nora Staffanell, claimed that the Orange County Jail had one of the highest levels of detainees in the state, adding that it is not unreasonable for residents to imagine that the County Sheriff’s Department would assist ICE in what she called “their illegal efforts.” Other residents, like Eduardo Blanco, added that the County Sheriff might be motivated by financial kickbacks, leading its agents to take arrested individuals to the county jail instead of the local precinct.

Bruce Ferbeck, a retired state police officer who said he served for 21 years in the state police (including six years as station commander in Monroe) said he came before the board about 20 years ago to advise them to keep the state police, claiming that the department was able to provide adequate or beyond adequate service to the residents of the town of Monroe. He said that after his retirement in 2014 things have changed and people must wait longer for state police to respond to emergency calls. He commended the town for addressing the issue and said he would prefer if they partner with another municipality, if not the Village of Monroe, then perhaps the Town of Chester or the Town of Blooming Grove, for example.

Michael Sussman, a former member of the Chester Town Board, said another problematic issue with partnering with County Sheriff is that the current sheriff is an elected official and that the town should not have a politicized institution overseeing law enforcement. He agreed with Ferbeck and others that the town should partner with the village or another municipality for police services.

Monroe Resident Liam Wisehart commented on the town’s tentative budget allocation of $750,000 for policing. Wisehart called this move a “financial time bomb being left for the next year after the election when taxes will have to be raised by many tens of percentage points to just justify this presumably part-time policing that’s going to come from the sheriff.”

Resident Carol Hawxhurst spoke in favor of the town partnering with the County Sheriff Department. She pointed to increased traffic issues and the lack of police enforcement, adding that she believed the Orange County Sheriff’s Department could improve resident safety.

Councilwoman Mary Bingham, citing a claim that local children were afraid to go to school out of fear of immigration enforcement, said she agreed that town may not want to consider certain organizations with ties to ICE.

Councilwoman Maureen Richardson said she felt the discussions for potential contract with the Orange County Sheriff were not transparent and not accountable to the public. She said she was disappointed that only certain members of the board were kept apprised of this agreement and disliked the idea of “Monroe becoming a police state overnight.”

Richardson also shared that she had spoken with Mayor Neil Dwyer and the other trustees of the Village Board and said they were open to an intermunicipal agreement (IMA) with the town, which they were planning to discuss at an upcoming meeting.

Councilwoman Dorey Houle said the town was in talks with all the surrounding police agencies and that the town wasn’t taking any immediate action. Supervisor Anthony Cardone further addressed the matter, saying that partnering with the village is still the main goal of the town. He added that the town was not getting any response from the village for his request for meetings and that approving a contract with the Sheriff’s Department would be temporary. Cardone also said the contract was presented to the board in executive session and reviewed by the town’s approved consultant.