MAHOPAC, N.Y.—Welcome to the Year in Review. Over the next several days, we'll look at some of the top stories of 2024. First up, the controversy that erupted around the turn of the new year pitted the county sheriff against local law enforcement…
Local Cops take on Sheriff over ERT
The Carmel and Kent Police Departments pushed back against Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville's decision move to take full control of the county's emergency response team—which had been a multi-agency body for nearly two decades.
After McConville disbanded the joint team in late 2023, Carmel and Kent formed a combined team of its own.
"It’s the view of Supervisor Cazzari and Kent Supervisor Jaime McGlasson that the team between us and Kent is staying intact,” Carmel Police Chief Hoffmann said. “We’re going to treat it as we’ve always been together and the county has no authority to dissolve the team...We have the personnel and the equipment.”
The unit was called into action in February when a Mahopac man allegedly threatened neighbors with a gun and barricaded himself into his apartment. He was later taken into custody without further incident.
In September, the Carmel Town Board passed a resolution authorizing a lawsuit against the county seeking what it believes is its share of grant money meant for its emergency response team (ERT).
Carmel Supervisor Mike Cazzari said the lawsuit was a last resort after Carmel and Kent tried to negotiate with the county to no avail.
‘We are now paying for equipment and training that was historically offset by the Homeland Security grant," Cazzari said. "Now, it’s coming out of our pockets."
Read our original coverage from January 2024 here.
Later in the year, Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann addressed the issue in an op-ed in Mahopac News.
Up next…
In Part 2, due to go live on Monday, we'll look at perhaps the year's biggest controversy, the proposed battery farm on Miller Road.
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