Article and Photos by Jennifer Korn 

NEW CITY, NY – Protestors gathered at the New City sheriff’s office on Friday to speak out against the recent actions of Rockland County Sheriff, Louis Falco. 

Falco’s personal Facebook page included links to articles about Black people accused of committing gruesome crimes. One of the articles was shared from a white supremacist Neo-Nazi website. 

“Everyone should be offended,” said L’Tanya Watkins, organizer of Rockland County Action Committee Lower Hudson Valley Inc. “I don’t know what his intentions were, I just know what the outcome was and sometimes the intention doesn’t matter.”

Rev. Owen Thompson of Grace Church said, “I have been to many events with Lou Falco and I thought I knew him as an ally.”

“It was really heartbreaking when these revelations came out,” said Thompson. 

In a recent statement to the Journal News, Falco wrote, “I attempted to send it to an investigator for analysis but inadvertently shared it to my personal Facebook page.” 

“You intended to send it to an investigator for what purpose?” said Watkins in response to Falco. “No one ever held him to account for the ridiculous explanation he gave.”

“I am hoping we can all find a way toward reconciliation but it has to begin with sincere acknowledgment of the fault,” said Thompson. 

Falco wrote in his statement, “I sincerely apologize for my actions and the pain they have caused to members of the community that I love and call my home.”

Thompson said he hopes Falco will use his position to “show how one can turn around.”

“The police are not our enemies. They are our protectors, they are our guardians and we want them to be true to their oaths,” said Thompson. 

“We’re here to say ‘no more’,” said Watkins. 

Check out more of the Rockland Report’s coverage of protests in Rockland County below.