Brentwood, NY, September 22nd, 2020: On Thursday, September 22nd, Legislator McCaffrey and members of the Legislature’s Republican Caucus gathered in rebuttal to Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone's irresponsible call to defund the Suffolk County Police Department.
On the morning of September 22nd, members of the Legislature’s Republican Caucus gathered on the steps of the Suffolk County Police Academy to rebute Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's irresponsible call to defund the Suffolk County Police Department.
County Executive Bellone continues to attribute his failed budget to the lack of action from the federal government, when in actuality the federal government has sent Suffolk County $283 million in aid- an amount that he has failed to distribute to our hurting townships.
There is no denying that Suffolk County is in a potentially disastrous fiscal emergency, but the mismanagement of funds by this administration is the reason. The democratic majority's habits of overspending and over borrowing existed before the negative effects of the economic shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. To threaten cuts of our Police Department as a solution is fear mongering and highly irresponsible.
As quoted in Newsday, Legislator McCaffrey said: ““The first reaction should not be to defund the Police, we should be defending the Police”
I firmly believe that public safety is meant to be the primary function of government, and will do everything in my power to keep it as such.
Legislator McCaffrey represents Suffolk County’s 14th Legislative District which encompasses the Village of Lindenhurst, Babylon Village, the hamlets of West Babylon and North Lindenhurst, portions of Copiague, North Babylon and Babylon’s barrier beach communities.