Op-Ed: Lawmaker Wrong On Sheriff's Office Policy

by Putnam County Sheriff Robert L. Langley Jr.

On August 11, 2020 the Putnam County Legislature made the decision to settle a lawsuit filed by Anthony DiPippo, for the sum of $12,000,000.00 for a case that occurred in 1994 under a previous administration.

Before formally voting to settle the lawsuit, Legislator Neal L. Sullivan made a public comment explaining why he was voting in favor of the settlement.

In that statement, Legislator Sullivan alleged that a Putnam County Sheriff’s Department employee admitted to “having a policy at the Sheriff’s Department of not adhering to the requirement of turning over evidence which could have been helpful to the defense”.
The requirement Legislator Sullivan is referring to is known as the “Brady Rule.” The “Brady Rule” is a pretrial discovery rule that requires the Prosecution to turn over to the defendant in a criminal case all exculpatory evidence in the possession of the Police and Prosecution.

Let me be clear by stating that there is no such policy in the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.
Since I took office in 2018 as Sheriff, my appointed Command Staff has been committed to reviewing and updating the existing Policies and Procedures of the Department. They are working alongside many other Supervisors, Investigators and Deputies who all have been diligently ensuring that our updated policies and procedures conform to State and Federal law and contain the best practices for Law Enforcement. By doing so we intend to minimize the risk of liability to our County.

I want to assure all that the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department is committed to providing the highest level of service to our community while also following the letter of the law and protecting the civil rights of all.