MONTICELLO – With COVID-19 expected to peak in New York in the next seven to 21 days, Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff is concerned that a large portion of the county’s law enforcement officers could become ill and unable to report to work.
That, he said could leave communities without adequate police protection, so after talking with municipal police chiefs, Schiff will use his emergency powers to deputize local cops as deputy sheriffs.
“This would allow us, in an emergency, to move manpower around, with the cooperation of the chiefs, we all agreed, and this just gives us the police powers countywide for the to do whatever he might need to do as a police officer outside their normal jurisdiction,” he said. “So, now we’re prepared; we have inter-municipal agreements with each of the villages and towns and this will allow us that if the need arises, we would be in the position to do that, not at that point, start sitting and figuring out how are we going to do this.”
The officers will be deputized immediately, with the initial term expiring on June 30. The sheriff said if necessary, he will extend the period until December 31.
