Constables given OK to carry batons, pepper spray

Bay Constable Mallory Nathan never knows what to expect when patrolling the Town of North Hempstead's 32 miles of waterfront.

Nathan, along with another full-time constable and five part-time constables now don't have to face water issues unarmed. The town board earlier this month approved allowing bay constables to carry weapons - not guns, but batons and law-enforcement grade pepper spray.

"It gives us at least something to protect ourselves with," he said Wednesday while patrolling Manhasset Bay.

Manhasset Bay is a busy hub to and from the East River, Nathan explained, which brings boaters from all over - from the Bronx, to Connecticut to Florida.

The North Shore, home to yacht clubs and waterfront mansions with docks, don't always make for calm waters. Summer revelers, especially on ladies nights at waterside restaurants, can sometimes be troublesome, Nathan said.

"These guys can party with the best of them," Nathan said. "Only difference is they drink Cristal."

Nathan, who has been a bay constable since 1998, said his duties are varied and include curbing speeding, evaluating waterfront homeowners' requests to build docks and arresting those suspected of boating while intoxicated.

Anything can go wrong in any of those situations, he said: "It's very hard to read people just by their appearance."

He recalled an incident when he issued a ticket for speeding and several hours later, "they put on beer muscles" and picked a fight with him.

But the ultimate example of what can go awry is the 2004 shooting of Babylon Town Bay Constable Richard Brooks, who was shot and killed in Oak Beach after trying to pull over an erratic driver. Babylon bay constables are armed with guns.

"We haven't had an incident or anything, but there's the potential," said North Hempstead Town Councilman Fred Pollack. "Their concern, and I think it's a valid one, is that someone is going to be a little belligerent out there. We didn't feel as if they should be totally without some means of protecting themselves on the water."

Keith Haberman, the dock master at the Port Washington Yacht Club, said bay constables should be armed, "Nowadays with all this terrorist stuff, you never know. We are close to some bridges.

The breakdown

Town bay constables armed and unarmed across LI:

Armed with guns:

Babylon

East

Hampton

Hempstead

Huntington

Islip

Riverhead

Southampton

Southold

Unarmed:

Brookhaven

Oyster Bay

Smithtown