County Exec Joins Officers Calling for Brinks Driver to Stay in Prison

NEW CITY, NY – Rockland County Executive Ed Day stood with law enforcement and elected officials in front of the shattered windshield of a Brinks armored car to call for criminal Judith Clark to remain in prison.

More than 500 people attended the Call for Justice for Brinks Victims on the steps of the old Rockland County Courthouse, where Clark and her fellow terrorists were arraigned on three counts of murder following the Oct. 20, 1981 crime.

"Judith Clark is a cold-blooded killer," Day said, in a statement after the rally. "Judith Clark earned her sentence. It is now up to all of us to ensure that she serves it."

Nyack police Sgt. Edward O'Grady, Officer Waverly "Chipper" Brown and Brinks guard Peter Paige were killed in the botched robbery and shoot-out that followed.

The Brinks armored truck windshield shattered by automatic bullets during the robbery was on display during the rally as a reminder of the brutality of the crime.

Day along with Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe, Sheriff Louis Falco, Rockland PBA President Chris Kiernan and Clarkstown Police Officer John Hanchar, nephew of Sgt. O'Grady, addressed the crowd and angrily criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo for commuting Clark's sentence.

The action announced late last week means that instead of serving the 75 years to life she was sentenced, Clark can now appear before a parole board and possibly win release.

"The governor has now betrayed all of us and perverted the scales of justice," Day told the crowd. "In one ill-advised fell swoop of the pen, he has betrayed the justice properly leveled upon this cop-killer and has sentenced the families, and all of us, to a bi-annual trip to the parole board to plead a case that was properly decided years ago."

Relatives of the three men killed in the 1981 Brinks robbery attended the rally.

"Governor Cuomo spent one hour talking to Judith Clark," Hanchar told the crowd. "That's 60 minutes longer than he spent talking to the families."

Diane O'Grady, Sgt. O'Grady's widow, was unable to attend but sent a message to Day thanking him for his support and encouraging the battle to keep Clark behind bars.

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The event was organized by many groups including the Rockland County Executive's office, Rockland County PBA, the Rockland Police Chief's Association, the Brinks Memorial Committee, the Rockland Sheriff's Department, Office of the Rockland District Attorney and Hudson Valley 10-13. Many local officials attended to show their support.

Organizers asked the community to send letters opposing Clark's release to:

Supervising Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
247 Harris Road
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2400
Re: Judith Clark
DIN 83G0313
Or via email; find a form here.