Putnam County Sheriff's Department

Sergeant Timothy Keith

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports the graduation of Sheriff’s Sergeant Timothy Keith from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in Quantico, Virginia on June 7, 2017.

Sergeant Keith, who is a supervisor in the Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division and a K-9 handler, was among 228 law enforcement officials hailing from 47 states and the District of Columbia, 24 foreign nations, five branches of the United States military and seven federal civilian agencies who attended the 268th Session of the Academy. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe was the principal speaker at the graduation ceremony, held at the Virginia campus.

Internationally renowned for its academic excellence, the FBI National Academy is a ten-week program of advanced communication, leadership and fitness training. Admission to the Academy is highly selective, with candidates nominated by their agencies to attend based upon the officer’s proven record of law enforcement service. Less than one percent of America’s law enforcement officials, and an even smaller percentage of nominees applying from other countries, are selected to attend the program. Since the inception of the Academy in 1935, the Academy has turned out some 50,141 graduates from the U.S. and abroad.

In March 2013, I issued two press releases which stated that Alexandru Hossu resided at your home, that you had interfered with the investigation into the claim that Hossu raped a young woman and that further suggested that you valued loyalty to Mr. Hossu over law enforcement objectives and should be investigated for knowingly harboring an illegal alien. These press releases, which I approved, received considerable attention and caused you embarrassment.

Today, I retract these releases unequivocally and apologize for the statements contained therein. These statements were untrue and I should not have made them. Mr. Hossu did not then reside at your home. He was arrested at another location where he then lived. I know that you did not interfere with the investigation of Mr. Hossu. Nor is there any evidence that you had any knowledge of Mr. Hossu’s immigration status or were intentionally harboring an illegal alien. And, finally, throughout your career, you prosecuted all manner of cases and I apologize for conveying anything, to the contrary.

I recognize that my statements spawned substantial litigation. As you know, before making this apology and retraction, I dismissed with prejudice the case I initiated against you and trust we can put this chapter behind us.

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith, who also serves as Chairman of the Putnam County Traffic Safety Board, is reminding motorists and bicyclists of the rules for sharing the road safely.

An amendment to the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law was enacted in 2010 that requires motorists to pass “at a safe distance” when overtaking a bicyclist travelling along the same side of the road. That law is commonly referred to as “Merrill’s Law” because the legislation was prompted by the death of Mr. Merrill Cassell, an avid cyclist who was struck and killed by a passing bus while he was riding along a road in Greenburgh.

The Vehicle and Traffic Law also provides rules for sharing the road that bicyclists must follow. When riding along a road, bicyclists must use a dedicated bicycle lane if one is provided or, if not, then near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a usable right-hand shoulder. Under the law, bikes must be ridden in a manner that prevents undue interference with the flow of traffic except when preparing for a left turn or when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions that would make it unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge.

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports that a tractor-trailer truck crashed and rolled over on New York Route 22 this morning (Tuesday), sending the trucker to the hospital and closing the highway to traffic.

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports that a two-car collision on Route 22 in Southeast this afternoon (Tuesday) has claimed the life of one driver and injured the driver and a passenger in the other car.

The crash occurred at about 1:15 p.m. today, when a northbound vehicle and a southbound vehicle on Route 22 collided head-on just north of the Milltown Road intersection. The male driver of the northbound vehicle was killed in the crash. The female driver and the male passenger of the southbound car were transported by ambulances to Danbury Hospital with injuries of unknown severity.

The identities of the crash victims were not immediately available. At the time of this News Release, the crash was still being investigated by the Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the New York State Police, and Route 22 would remain closed to traffic during the investigation.