Village Board Response

Dear Residents:

The village board has been made aware of an incident that has occurred within the Suffern Central School System. We understand and support that an internal investigation is underway.

Our village board is comprised of five members, four of which are honorably retired law enforcement officers. We find this incident to be offensive and unjustified.

We are confident that the school board will take the appropriate action on this matter.

The village board echoes and supports the statement made below by one of our village residents.

Sincerely,

The Mayor and Village Board

Dear Village of Sloatsburg Board Members,

I’m writing as a resident of Sloatsburg to bring to your attention a matter that recently occurred at Montebello Elementary School. As you know, due to the restructuring of our school district, some children from Sloatsburg now attend Montebello. I was recently informed that the school counselor read a book to the third-grade students, including those from our village, titled Something Happened in Our Town.

The story is about a police shooting and explores the reactions of two families—one white, one Black—addressing racial and social issues. While I understand the importance of discussing sensitive topics, I am concerned about the portrayal of police officers in this book. In one part of the story, a child asks why a white police officer involved in the shooting wasn’t arrested, and the response given is, "Because cops don’t get in trouble for killing Black people. It was a white cop, and he won’t go to jail." Another character comments that "police officers cover for each other."

As a police officer AND a minority, I find this narrative deeply troubling and infuriating. It implies that white officers are above the law and that there is a system-wide effort to shield them from accountability, simply due to their race or because of a culture of cover-ups. This is not only inaccurate but offensive to those of us who take pride in our profession and work hard to serve our communities with integrity.

I understand that the intention may have been to spark a conversation, but such material can easily create division and mistrust, especially when presented to young, impressionable students. It paints a biased and misleading picture of law enforcement, which I believe is inappropriate for our schools.

I wanted to make the Board aware of this situation, in case it has not yet come to your attention. I believe it’s important that our village leaders issue a statement in support of our police officers, who work tirelessly to protect our community, and ensure that the material presented in our schools is both balanced and factual.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,



Resident, Village of Sloatsburg