Hundreds of Nassau County jail officers joined forces outside Mineola county offices Aug. 7 chanting and carrying picket signs. The protest was aimed primarily at Sheriff Edward Reilly, who took charge of the East Meadow facility six months ago.

A meeting between both sides was held the following day, mediated by Legislator Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin), chairman of the public safety committee, and attended by other county legislators. Many issues were left unresolved, but further meetings were planned to continue negotiations.

Quality of life issues were at the heart of disputes, said union president Mike Adams in an interview with The Westbury Times. However, Reilly stated in a subsequent interview that he believed that the county's policy of paying officers for overtime through compensatory time off instead of cash was at the root of the problem.

"In this setting, it is very important that when I order someone to work, they have the expectation they will be paid," Reilly said. "Because of a stipulation in the contract, officers who make over a certain amount are paid in time and not money, and this has some of my supervisors very upset."

Some officers have responded to the overtime cap by using sick days more frequently, resulting in staffing shortages in the supervisory rank, according to Reilly. In order to ensure coverage, supervisors are now required to be on stand-by 24 hours a day, a policy that Adams criticized.

"Not monetary issues, but quality of life issues are at stake," Adams said. "The 1,068 people who work in this facility just aren't being treated right."

Some of Adams' complaints included a faulty fire sprinkler system, which had been neglected for months but has since been repaired, a "mass exodus" of officers, and staff cuts that have threatened the safety of the remaining officers.

According to Adams, many officers are unhappy with Reilly's appointment of two deputy undersheriffs who are his former colleagues from his days as an administrator in the New York City jail system. "Why were people who aren't even from Nassau County brought in and put into key positions? Qualified, experienced staff don't want to stay here anymore because the administration is not backing them," he said.

Reilly answered, "The undersheriffs have only been here for a month. Both have had many, many years of distinguished service in the correctional field and they are here to lend a hand and bring us through a difficult time."

Adams called staff cuts to save money "understandable," but not if they threaten the lives of corrections officers. "There is no monetary value on one of my officers," he said. "You can't say, 'If I save $50,000 dollars in the budget this year, it's okay if one officer gets killed.' We put them in perilous situations to save money."

Finally, Adams charged that inmates who assault officers must first be taken to a police station before they are arrested, a policy that often stalls prosecution efforts, and may encourage violence against officers. "We're peace officers, we are law enforcement, so why can't we arrest inmates right on the spot like they do at Riker's Island? I have officers who are spit on, punched, kicked, and they tell us that it's just part of the job. Inmates should know that if you assault an officer, you break the law, you get arrested, then you go to trial."

"We are hoping to do our own arrests of inmates who assault staff in the future," Reilly said.

"We are asking the government to get involved with the corrections center, to better conditions here, which is something most law enforcement agencies won't do," Adams said. "What a cry for help."