Albion, N.Y. (WHAM) – A proposal to eliminate the Major Felony Crime Task Force in Orleans County has sparked a public dispute among county leaders, with the district attorney, the sheriff and a newly announced sheriff candidate offering sharply different accounts of what is happening and why.
District Attorney Susan Howard released a statement Friday raising concerns about plans to eliminate the task force, saying it has played a critical role in getting drugs and illegal guns off the street. In the county’s tentative 2027 budget, the county proposes abolishing the task force and creating a new organizational model in the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
Howard said the move was politically motivated. She said that on Tuesday, Brett Sobieraski announced his Republican campaign for sheriff in next year’s election, and the next day it was announced the task force was being defunded and Sobieraski, along with two other law enforcement professionals, were fired. Howard said Sobieraski, a former investigator, was escorted by security out of the office.
In a statement Saturday, Orleans County Sheriff Christopher Bourke rejected Howard’s allegations, calling “the suggestion that the decision was politically motivated outrageous.” Bourke said the county has identified nearly $400,000 in potential savings by restructuring the operation and said Orleans County is not abandoning major felony investigations. He said eliminating the Major Felony Crime Task Force does not mean eliminating its mission and that the responsibilities are being transferred to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
Sobieraski also released a statement Friday saying he is “furious” the sheriff is working to abolish the task force days after he announced his candidacy for sheriff. Sobieraski said the task force was a crucial crime reduction division and said it has helped take down major drug trafficking operations. He also accused Bourke of putting his own personal gain ahead of public safety and said he is calling for an immediate reinstatement of the task force.
Bourke said public safety is too important to use as a political weapon and said he is committed to Orleans County residents.
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Source: 13wham.com
