including schools, countywide
CARMEL- The Carmel Town Board has thanked the Carmel School District for donating an obsolete school bus to the Carmel and Kent Police Departments—a vehicle that will be converted into a mobile command post for the Hostage Negotiation Team of the Putnam County Multi-Agency Police Emergency Response Team (ERT).
The Putnam ERT consists of officers from the Carmel and Kent police agencies serving as SWAT operators and crisis negotiators. ERT members are already working on the bus to get it equipped and ready to respond when needed.
Last December, the Putnam County Law Department disbanded the county’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) over liability concerns.
Deputy County Attorney Connor McKiernan explained that the team, which was formed in the early 2000s, had never received approval from the Putnam Legislature, resulting in a liability to the county.
At the time Sheriff Kevin McConville presented a plan that replaced the ERT with the Sheriff’s Response Team (SRT), which didn’t sit well with Carmel Supervisor Mike Cazzari, Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann, Kent Police Chief Kevin Owens, and Carmel PD Lieutenants Neil Brown and Mike Bodo.
McConville called the liability issue the “greatest threat to our county. We must protect the citizens of Putnam County as well as the members of the team. Our greatest concern is to man a highly trained team that will respond to a crisis situation.”
Since that time, Carmel and Kent town officials approved resolutions affirming their commitment to participate in the Putnam County Emergency Response Team, although the squad of specially trained law enforcement professionals had been disbanded by the county.
From the towns’ standpoint, they charged the county had withdrawn from the team and both municipalities announced plans to continue it.
In the meantime, Sheriff McConville presented a plan that replaced the ERT with the Sheriff’s Response Team (SRT).
McConville announced that Capt. James Schepperly, a retired State Police official, would be heading up the new team: “We will protect everyone after finalizing the process and making sure the team is in compliance with legal statutes. Everyone will be protected.”
McConville also said he was “looking forward to a continued partnership with our neighboring town and village police forces by interacting with these agencies.”
Easier said than done!
Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann charged: “For the Law Department to say the ERT had no legal authority was questionable. We were surprised by this decision since the team had a memorandum of agreement approved by all three jurisdictions. The ERT had been working as a team since 2006, and Carmel and Kent have had their ducks in a row.”
Kent Police Chief Kevin Owens urged the county to “contract with the people currently associated with the team. The legislature was aware of this for a long time, yet we get a letter to cease and desist. This was a breakdown in communication and was disingenuous.”
The resolution approved by the two town boards’ states that the municipalities “affirm a commitment to the Memorandum of Understanding and accept the withdrawal of the Putnam Sheriff’s Department with regret.”
Carmel Supervisor Michael Cazzari said: “With the Town of Kent, we are continuing our commitment to the safety of residents of Carmel and Kent. For many years joint operations with the Sheriff’s Department occurred that greatly benefited the entire county, not just Carmel and Kent. Dissolving the team caused problems for the safety of Putnam’s residents which is why the two town boards were committed to keeping our communities safe.”
Cazzari, a former Carmel Police Chief, worked the grant that resulted in the multi-jurisdictional ERT.
Cazzari said it was started because “it took an hour for Westchester County responders to arrive in Putnam for a crisis. We got along and worked together for the betterment of all of Putnam County. It’s foolish to go the route the county has decided.”
Nineteen members of the Sheriff’s Department currently comprise the new SRT. The sheriff noted that even though Carmel and Kent PD personnel are currently not members of the new team, “eight other individuals from the Sheriff’s Department have requested to participate. If anything, the potential for the team to increase its membership is significant.”
Meanwhile, Lt. Brown, a member of the ERT, said while “funds may be limited, the Putnam Emergency Response Team is not defunct nor has it ever been defunct. The team will welcome back the Putnam Sheriff’s Department but it has been months since the department withdrew and no effort from Putnam County has been made to correct the situation.”
