Political opponents criticize Onondaga County sheriff for parading with anti-terrorism vehicle

Syracuse, NY -- Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh has appeared in at least 10 parades during the past year walking in front of his department’s new tank-like anti-terrorism vehicle. In the parades, the BearCat armored vehicle carries magnetic signs bearing Walsh’s name. But nothing on it tells people to vote for him this election year. He’s careful to never...

View full sizeMike Greenlar / The Post-StandardOnondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh greets spectators while walking in front of the department's armored vehicle down State Street during the Skaneateles Labor Day Parade.

Syracuse, NY -- Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh has appeared in at least 10 parades during the past year walking in front of his department’s new tank-like anti-terrorism vehicle.

In the parades, the BearCat armored vehicle carries magnetic signs bearing Walsh’s name. But nothing on it tells people to vote for him this election year. He’s careful to never use it as part of his campaign, he said. That would be a violation of the state Constitution, according to an expert on campaign ethics.

Walsh’s opponents say that although he’s within the law, he’s overstepping the spirit of it. And his Republican opponent, sheriff’s Detective Ed Bragg, said the way the BearCat is stored overnight for some of those parades could jeopardize the agency’s response to an emergency. The vehicle, bought with $237,000 in grants from the state Office of Homeland Security, sometimes sits in the driveway at the home of Undersheriff Warren Darby the day before Walsh uses it in a parade.

If it’s at Darby’s when an emergency situation occurs, the sheriff’s SWAT team would have to retrieve it, then head to the scene, Bragg said. The tactical equipment that’s normally stored in the vehicle at the department’s heliport in Camillus is removed when it’s stored at Darby’s home.

“So if the city needs it, two people have to drive up to his house in Brewerton and get it,” said Bragg, who’s challenging Walsh on Tuesday for the Republican nomination for sheriff. There hasn’t been a need for the vehicle while it was at Darby’s home in the two years that the county has had the BearCat, Bragg said.

It’s more susceptible to vandals spray-painting its special anti-radiation paint in a residential driveway than in the sheriff’s alarmed hangar at the county heliport, Bragg said.

The vehicle is equipped with a ramming mechanism and armor plating that allow SWAT teams to crash into a barricaded building and rescue hostages under fire. It has a device that can sniff out explosives, another that can detect radiation, and it can carry 10 deputies. The sheriff got it to prevent or respond to terrorist attacks, according to the county’s grant application.

The BearCat was used eight times in 2009 and seven times this year, according to a county log. The most recent call was last month, when Syracuse police had two armed gunmen in a standoff at a South Avenue restaurant after the gunmen fired at an officer.

Walsh, seeking his fifth four-year term, said the BearCat is safe at Darby’s home and that it doesn’t present a possible delay by storing it there. “I don’t see that as an issue,” he said. “They wouldn’t have to drive it back to the heliport. They could have someone in Camillus pick up the tactical equipment then take it where it needs to go.” He also dismissed the idea that parking it in Darby’s driveway presents a security risk. Nobody’s going to go near it there, he said.

As far as marching in front of the BearCat in parades – and riding in it at a parade at the state fair – Walsh said that’s permissible because he never displays campaign signs. The state Constitution prohibits the use of government resources for non-government purposes, but that would only apply if someone were using equipment to actively campaign, said Mark Davies, director of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board and an expert in local government ethics.

“He’s there in his official capacity as sheriff, so that would be OK,” Davies said of Walsh’s use of the BearCat in parades. It’s akin to a fire department rolling out its new fire engine in a parade, Walsh said.

“People are paying for it — they’d like to see it,” Walsh said. “It’s sparked a lot of interest when we’re waiting for the parades to start. People want to know where we got it and how we got it and what it’s used for.”

Sheriff’s Sgt. Toby Shelley, who has the Democratic endorsement for sheriff, said the public should see the department’s newest equipment. “It should be in parades occasionally, but why’s it only coming out in an election year?” asked Shelley, who’s running against Deputy Joe Price next week in a primary for the Democratic nomination. Price also questioned why it seems Walsh does much more parade marching in election years.

Walsh said he marched with the BearCat at the 2009 St. Patrick’s Day parade and the Veterans Day parade. He said he’s marched in parades for many years, often alongside a piece of equipment such as the Air One helicopter. “I’ve been in parades almost every year for as many years as I can remember,” he said. “Maybe not as many as this year.”

Contact John O’Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 470-2187.