Union: Lead buildup makes police range unsafe
Four officers practicing at the Nassau police firing range were hit by ricocheting bullets in the last month, police union Chief Gary DelaRaba told county lawmakers Wednesday, adding that lead buildup also has contamined soil and water there.
"There is splashback from the berm, front edge of target system and non-covered metal in front of columns for both shooters and line officers," DelaRaba said, passing to the legislators lead he said was picked up from the ground and displaying photos of the conditions.
DelaRaba said a March 27 accident brought an ambulance to the range to treat two officers and two other officers were injured the week of April 2.
DelaRaba said a March 27 accident brought an ambulance to the range to treat two officers and two other officers were injured the week of April 2, including a recruit who went to the hospital to have shrapnel removed from her hand, he said.
But Deputy Chief George Gudmundsen, who was also at the legislative session, said the two officers hit in March were special operations officers (Nassau's SWAT members) using high-powered rifles with jacketed ammunition, "not the frangible type used on the range by most officers."
Deputy Chief George Gudmundsen, said he did not know of the April problems. He also dismissed DelaRaba's claims, saying they are "grossly exaggerated."
They were treated for minor injuries at the range by emergency medical personnel.
Gudmundsen, head of support services, said he did not know of the April problems. He also dismissed DelaRaba's claims, saying they are "grossly exaggerated. There were two minor incidents of ricochets. It happens at ranges all over the nation, but it doesn't mean something's wrong."
Nevertheless, he said, the department has $7 million in its capital budget to renovate the range next year and, if needed, to remove the lead buildup. The department's building maintenance unit, after the March 27 accidents, placed hay bales behind the berm to better absorb the bullets, he said.
But he added that he had stopped the work temporarily at the PBA's request. DelaRaba told the legislature the hay worsens the situation because it breaks up, then gets crushed into the soil.
DelaRaba said lead has not been mined from the more than 40-year-old range for about 13 years except for one minor cleanup. He said there is no sprinkler system in some areas to knock down the lead dust, no separate area for academy students to eat away from the dust and there are contaminated barrels and spackle buckets with lead behind the shooting range berm that leak into the soil.
Presiding Officer Judy Jacob's reaction was to leave the room and, she later said, call the health department and the county's staff expert on environmental issues to look into the situation.
The staff expert, Tom Maher, arrived and promised to check out the range. Health Department spokeswoman Cynthia Brown, reached afterward, said: "We have investigated in the past and are currently doing so again."
But police officials later disputed DelaRaba's claims of contamination. "I am unaware of any lead contamination in any groundwater," said Gudmundsen.
Lisanne Altmann, (D-Great Neck), said the county is ripe for a lawsuit and the range, which is near a school, should be closed and fixed.
David Denenberg, , said he would go to the site and ask state environmental officials to visit. Some lawmakers, led by Denenberg and including at least one Republican, Denise Ford of Long Beach, promised to meet DelaRaba at the range tomorrow.
Posted Thursday, April 26, 2007
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