Croton panel rejects thin blue line flag, seeks 3 officers

Key Actions & Decisions

• ◆ **Resolutions Passed**
• ◆ Approved the proposed PAC budget to be submitted to the Village Board (unanimous; dollar amount not specified in minutes).
• ◆ **Resolutions Failed**
• ◆ A proposed youth art contest for National Night Out was rejected by the Village Manager, who ruled it not police-related.
• ◆ **Applications Reviewed**
• ◆ None.
• ◆ **Public Comments**
• ◆ Resident Ed Reily (1 speaker): Spoke about the influx of immigrants over the past four years and suggested the PAC stress the process for gaining legal status. PAC Chair Carolyn Whiting advised this is beyond the committee's purview as it is a federal issue.
• ◆ **Reports**
• ◆ **Village Manager Directives:** Manager Healy denied a youth art contest proposal. Healy also requested the PAC discuss proposed locations for two red-light cameras (Southbound Route 9 exit ramp at Croton Point Avenue/Municipal Place, and Riverside Avenue intersection).
• ◆ **License Plate Readers (Detective Fielding):** Reported Mobotix cameras store data via Rekor at the County Real Time Crime Center. Data is shared only with participating local law enforcement or via judicial warrant (not available to ICE without a warrant). Overview photos are stored for 10 days; license plate data for approximately 3 years. Data cannot be used for mass behavioral analysis.
• ◆ **Body Cameras:** Still waiting on a Motorola sample; will test an alternative company's camera for one month.
• ◆ **Chief Nikitopoulos Reports:** 15 teens signed up for the Youth Cadet program, hoped to launch by mid-February. The department has 400 free gun safety locks (150 applied for by Chief, 250 by Detective Fielding), with 25 already distributed and available in the lobby. Chief will explore a Latino community soccer game day with Manager Healy.
• ◆ **Staffing & Accreditation:** Chief explained the need for 3 additional officers to transition from a backwards rotating patrol schedule to a steady tour to improve health, safety, and morale (recent officer departures are believed to be schedule-related). A consultant is also requested to assess staffing. The labor-intensive accreditation process (policy manual finished; procedures and accreditation manuals pending) will be discussed with the Board to determine if it is diverting resources from police work.
• ◆ **National Police Week (May 15-21, 2026):** PAC will request Board recognition, a flag raising at the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building, and a community ceremony. The committee explicitly agreed a "thin blue line" cannot be part of the Croton PD flag design, though a blue background is acceptable.
• ◆ **Camera Education Campaign:** PAC scheduled a March meeting to discuss all village cameras (red-light, LPRs) and a potential public education/outreach campaign to address resident opposition.
• ◆ **Community Outreach:** PAC drafting a letter for Croton Caring Food boxes with police website info and translation directions. Exploring a free community raffle basket at National Night Out. Proposing volunteer-led ESL classes in the community room. Trustee Slippen noted the village website will be redesigned in the 2026-2027 budget year.
• ◆ **Officer Profiles:** Ian Murtaugh wrote profiles for Officers Duran, Rooney, and Twyman for the website; will write profiles for Officers Tovar and Cunningham next.
• ◆ **Lending Library:** Carolyn Whiting proposed purchasing 8-10 non-fiction police topic books annually ($250-$300 from PAC budget) to build a lending library for officers, pending PBA President Officer Jeremy Davis's approval.
• ◆ **Medical Equipment:** Teri Lukin raised the idea of carrying EpiPens, but noted epinephrine can cause harm to those allergic to it, unlike Narcan.