Putnam County Government: Letter To The Editor 10/22/2021 “Much Ado About The Boat Patrol”

Press release from the Putnam County Government:

October 22, 2021

To the editor:

NBC’s News 4 has been investigating the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department under the leadership of Sheriff
Robert Langley. The network is looking into the case of a 77-year-old Brewster man who was injured while being
taken into police custody and the separate case of an officer who rammed a suspect’s car on I-84 and later was
involved in a head-on collision while driving at high speed.
These issues raise serious questions about Sheriff Langley’s leadership, but all the Sheriff wants to talk about are
boats. He has attacked my administration and the Legislature non-stop for reducing the Sheriff’s Department Marine
Division, a boat patrol he established without authorization. Because we reduced the boat patrol, he claimed we
“defunded” his department. That’s a laugh, considering his ever-increasing spending. Then he blamed a supposed
lack of funding for his own failure to provide adequate training.
So, let’s set the record straight. When we reduced the Marine Division patrols, it was not about cutting Sheriff’s
Department funding. The Sheriff’s $32 million budget for 2022, which represents 19% of the entire county budget,
is $1 million more than this year’s allotment.
The reason we eliminated some marine patrols was because they duplicated the services that other agencies provide.
Actually, “duplicated” is an understatement. During a recent tragic incident on the Hudson River, no fewer than 19
agencies responded to a 911 call. Those agencies included: state, local and park police; fire departments from up
and down both sides of the river; local and county ambulances and paramedics; dive teams; aviation units; and
marine units, including one from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Given this response, I don’t think anyone will miss the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department boat in the Hudson
River.
The Sheriff’s Department patrols on the Hudson River were never full-time anyway. They were part-time, weekendonly, seasonal patrols, and they didn’t help much.
In the past five years, records show, there were 29 Hudson River-specific emergency calls. The Sheriff’s
Department responded to nine of these calls, and, of those, declined four due to no available response. On average
then, the marine patrols that Sheriff Langley is so outraged about losing responded to one emergency call a year.
On Lake Mahopac, where the Sheriff’s patrols were also cut, the Marine Division didn’t even patrol every weekend
in season. Instead, it alternated weekends with the Carmel Police Department. In Putnam Valley, where no other
agency patrols Oscawana Lake, we kept the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol in place.
The primary and fastest response on the Hudson River has always been provided by local fire departments. This is
true not only in Putnam County, but in every county along the Hudson. The Cold Spring Fire Department, for
instance, keeps a boat on the river and its members are highly trained.
Residents should be assured that Putnam County will always ensure the safety of our shorelines; we just plan to do it
better than Sheriff Langley has done.
Putnam County is in the process of finalizing its Hudson River Response Plan in conjunction with Orange County
and the fire departments along the river. Our response plan will ensure services are coordinated, effective and in the
best interest of swimmers, boaters and taxpayers.
Respectfully,
MaryEllen Odell
Putnam County Executive

This press release was produced by the Putnam County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.