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In Memory of Retired Rockland County Sheriff James Kralik (Apr 19, 1943 – Jul 24, 2017)

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James Kralik of Sloatsburg, NY – Retired Rockland County Sheriff (April 19, 1943 – July, 24 2017)

James Kralik known as “Cowboy Kralik,” retired from his post in 2011 after 49 years in the Rockland County Sheriff’s office, spending his final years in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he owned a horse farm. He was a licensed battlefield guide, frequently guiding tours on horseback. Kralik had been chief of patrol for two decades before being elected sheriff in November, 1991. He will be remembered for the steps he took to unify Rockland’s police and bring federal funding to the area.

He started back in November of 1962 and “the first night, I had to be told my shift was over and to come in,” Kralik said. He immediately became aware of how each town police department was separate from one another and refused to work over town lines. “There was an imaginary line that was a true barrier,” Kralik said, adding, “that is not what I think we should be doing, so I spent my whole law enforcement career trying to change that”

Kralik also pulled in $16 million of federal grant money to be distributed throughout law enforcement in Rockland.
Remembered on this day. It was announced in August of 2018 that the Rockland County sheriff’s complex will be renamed in his memory. The complex will include the Sheriff’s administration offices, jail, and radio room. Kralik, started the Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol Unit, and that legacy lives on to this day.

2019 Wayne Day in Stony Point

Information provided by Rockland County Historian Kato Hatch.

Police/Fire/EMS

Ramapo Police Halt Test of Advanced License Plate Reader Cameras

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Ramapo Police Chief Daniel Hyman announced that the department will not move forward with a planned test of a new generation of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, citing privacy concerns and the need to balance law enforcement technology with constitutional protections.

Hyman said the technology being considered goes beyond the department’s existing fixed license plate readers. While current cameras primarily capture license plates to help identify wanted or stolen vehicles and assist with criminal investigations, the newer systems include advanced investigative analytics and vehicle-identification capabilities.

“Those capabilities can provide tremendous value to law enforcement, but they also raise legitimate questions about privacy and the appropriate limits of government technology,” Hyman said.

Hyman emphasized that the decision does not affect the traditional fixed LPR cameras currently used by the Ramapo Police Department and does not represent a rejection of license plate reader technology overall.

Instead, he said the department is exercising caution because of the expanded capabilities of the newer systems.

“Our responsibility is to protect both” public safety and constitutional protections, Hyman said.

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Police/Fire/EMS

Two Hospitalized After Crash on Kings Highway in Valley Cottage

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Emergency crews responded to a motor vehicle collision Sunday morning on Kings Highway, where two people were transported to the hospital.

Medic 5, RPS 8, Congers-Valley Cottage Ambulance and the Valley Cottage Fire Department responded to the scene.

Two patients were transported to Montefiore Nyack Hospital in stable condition.

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