4 members of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's provisional deputies program appear to have arrest records

Four members of the controversial provisional deputies program created by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in 2024 appear to have arrest records or had warrants issued for their arrest, court papers filed on Tuesday in State Supreme Court in Mineola show.

The provisional deputies, armed civilians who would be mobilized to assist police during emergencies, are highly skilled and well-trained, Blakeman has said, and many have law enforcement and military backgrounds. But the latest documents filed in an going lawsuit by two county legislators challenging the legality and necessity of the program said many are unqualified.

One is a Blakeman relative who works in real estate and has no law enforcement experience. Another is a doctor who worked on Blakeman’s transition team. Five appeared to be in their 70s when they joined the program, "not withstanding that New York State has a mandatory retirement age of 62 for most police officers," the papers said.

"Contrary to defendants’ assurances that the program consists of well trained and ‘highly skilled’ individuals, some of the program participants have no law enforcement experience and their age or professional experience strongly suggests they are ill suited to exercise police powers against civilians in Nassau County," the court papers said.

The provisional deputies are not named in the documents.

In a statement to Newsday, Blakeman said the deputies are "respected members of the community" and that many had served in the military and with law enforcement.

"All special deputies went through an extensive background check and were trained in criminal law and firearms and all had valid New York State carry permits," Blakeman said.

Blakeman’s fealty to President Donald Trump and his embrace of the MAGA movement have stoked fears among Democratic lawmakers and community advocates that Blakeman, the Republican candidate for New York governor, will use the provisional deputies to intimidate minority communities and interfere in November’s election.

Those fears increased in recent months as federal immigration agents have engaged in aggressive enforcement tactics in Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland and other American cities. In Nassau, those fears were further fueled when a 42-year-old immigrant detained by federal agents died in September at the county’s East Meadow jail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials blamed the man’s death on liver failure, a claim his family disputed.

"We’re now seeing on a national scale what happens when an out-of-control executive is allowed to deploy unaccountable, armed squads against civilians," said Carey Dunne of the Free and Fair Litigation Group, one of the attorneys representing Nassau County Legis. Debra Mulé (D-Freeport) and Legis. Scott Davis (D-Rockville Centre).

The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in February 2025, argues that the Blakeman administration violated county law by using public resources to create the program. The lawsuit also argues that officials have illegally denied lawmakers’ requests for information about the deputies.

"When you arm civilians and give them vague authority, keep their identity secret, you create confusion and risk and put the public and law enforcement in real danger," Mulé said. "It is not responsible public safety policy."

In October, a judge dismissed a counterclaim filed by Blakeman that argued Mulé and Davis had violated his right to free speech by filing a lawsuit that said his plan to deputize armed citizens was unlawful. State Supreme Court Justice Gary M. Carlton ruled that there was no legal basis for Blakeman to argue the lawsuit was an attempt to silence him, a maneuver known as a "strategic lawsuit against public participation," or SLAPP.

Blakeman then filed a second motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that Mulé and Davis failed to state a claim because the deputies program is legal and even if it were not, the lawmakers have not presented an adequate claim. The papers filed on Tuesday are a response to that motion.

The latest court action comes as lawmakers and community advocates continue to ask why Nassau, which boasts one of the nation’s largest police departments and is regularly touted by Blakeman and others as among the safest counties in the nation, needs an additional layer of policing. Six of the deputies are also members of the Nassau County Auxiliary Police, the court papers said, "underscoring the wastefulness of the program."

The Blakeman administration began recruiting for the provisional deputies program in March 2024, when it placed a notice in Newsday seeking private citizens who would help authorities protect human life and property during emergencies.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, Nassau residents, property or business owners and 21 to 72 years old. They must consent to a background check and drug testing, and provide a fit-for-duty letter from a doctor. Blakeman has said he hopes to have 75 provisional deputies, who would be paid $150 a day while mobilized.

Newsday's Candice Ferrette contributed to this story.