[Wah!...] Democrats sue GOP county executive over armed volunteer unit they say amounts to an illegal militia

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/democrats-sue-gop-county-executive-over-
armed-volunteer-unit-they-say-amounts-to-an-illegal-militia/ar-AA1ytNMZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats in suburban New York are suing a Republican 
county executive over his creation of an armed unit of volunteer 
residents, saying it amounts to an “illegal, taxpayer-funded civilian 
militia.”

Nassau County Democratic lawmakers argue in their complaint filed 
Wednesday that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman lacked the legal 
authority to form a cadre of special sheriff's deputies with “authority to 
use deadly force and make arrests under color of law.”

They say state law authorizes local sheriffs to deputize only trained law 
enforcement officers from other agencies in emergencies — not private 
citizens.

“New York State law is clear: only professional, sworn officers can wield 
police powers,” said Josh Kelner, whose law firm Kelner & Kelner joined 
the Free and Fair Litigation Group to file the suit on behalf of 
Democratic lawmakers. “Blakeman’s militia is illegal and a clear threat to 
public safety."

Democrats, who are the minority in the county legislature, also complain 
Blakeman's office has ignored their public records requests seeking basic 
details of the program, including who is being recruited, the scope of 
their training, the specific weapons they will carry and the total 
taxpayer cost of the program.

Blakeman didn't immediately respond to the secrecy claims, but in a 
statement dismissed the suit as “frivolous" and suggested Democrats were 
defaming the 26 volunteers sworn in to date, many of whom are retired 
military and law enforcement officers.

He has said the armed deputies are required to be licensed gun owners, 
must complete 12 hours of classroom instruction and practice on the firing 
range.

He's also stressed the deputies would only be called on when the county, 
located just east of the New York City borough of Queens, faces a natural 
disaster or other major emergency.

The deputies would be assigned to protect government buildings, hospitals 
and critical infrastructure, and not be used to quell protests or patrol 
streets, as Democrats and other critics have suggested, according to 
Blakeman.

Democrats, in their suit, note the county already has one of the largest 
local police forces in the nation, with some 2,600 sworn officers. State 
troopers also serve Nassau County and dozens of local villages have their 
own police forces.

The county can also call up hundreds of unarmed civilian volunteers 
through the Nassau County Auxiliary Police and the Nassau County Office of 
Emergency Management Community Emergency Response Team, according to the 
litigation.

"Defendants have not publicly explained how a group of less than one 
hundred armed civilians would materially aid the thousands of trained, 
registered, sworn, and armed police and peace officers available to meet 
the needs of Nassau County residents in the event of an emergency," the 
lawsuit states. “Authorizing minimally trained private citizens to wield 
force on behalf of the government – and during an emergency no less – 
poses clear and obvious safety risks, both to trained law enforcement and 
the public at large.”


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November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and 
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem.  It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden 
fiasco, President Trump.  

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.