In March, Nassau County, NY officials posted a notice searching for armed residents willing to serve as provisional deputy sheriffs for “protection of human life and property during an emergency,” like protecting infrastructure during natural disasters. Here’s why this seemingly innocuous call to action is dangerous.
History sets a precedent for white citizens reveling in opportunities like these. Deputization becomes an excuse to act as modern-day slave catchers. That’s why vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse revere the police. In 2006, even the FBI quietly admitted a problem with white supremacists “infiltrating” law enforcement agencies for that purpose.
In 2005, private security forces and self-deputized white vigilantes alike criminalized and attacked Black residents during Hurricane Katrina. “Order” and “control” in the city meant “shooting looters.” During a devastating natural disaster, they valued property over people forced to scavenge for bare essentials.
Another recent opportunity white vigilantes jumped on? The 2020 election, when armed white poll watchers chanting “four more years” harassed Black voters, that, too, was history repeating itself. White Citizens’ Councils purged Black voters from voting rolls in the 50s before rebranding into the organization that inspired Dylann Roof to commit the Charleston Church Massacre.
White supremacists have and will continue to use policing to commit anti-Black violence. Threatening calls for deputized citizens like Nassau’s can’t be overlooked.