MIDDLETOWN – Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney has announced $900,000 in discretionary federal funding to beef up police departments in the region.
While in Middletown Monday, he announced $300,000 for that city’s police department for license plate readers and additional security cameras. He also announced a $600,000 grant for the Town of Fishkill to secure body cameras for its police department and said he is working on a $30,000 grant for the Town of Deerpark Police Department for similar purposes.
“I just think it’s nuts to say defund the police because every improvement I know costs money. It means better training, it means better technology, it means better support and if you want bad policing ands more crime, then defund the police. If you want good policing less crime, you have to support good policing; that’s what I have always done,” he said during a round table discussion.
Participating in the conversation were Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano and Police Chief John Ewanciw, Fishkill Town Supervisor Ozzy Albra, and Deerpark Town Police Chief Richard Sztyndor.
All agreed that body cameras protect all parties involved in police interactions because they capture the full extent of the dealings.
