'Carnage On Our Streets': DA Talks Deadly Driving, ODs In Election Bid

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced his bid for re-election Tuesday at a press conference in Riverhead — citing a spiraling fentanyl crisis and deadly street driving as reasons to keep fighting at his current post.

At the event, held at the Suffolk Theater, Tierney outlined critical issues impacting the safety and well-being of Suffolk County residents, including an "alarming rise in fentanyl-related overdose deaths among youth", which, he said, increased by 177 percent during the first year of the pandemic, driven by the spread of the synthetic opioid.

Tierney also unveiled newly released crime statistics and innovative measures aimed at reducing crime across Suffolk County that have yielded results since he took office, after besting Tim Sini for the seat in 2021.

Tierney, 58, of Holtsville, ran on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Tuesday's event began with heartfelt testimony from Gene and Sue Murray, who lost their son Michael to a drug overdose in 2012; in 2022, their daughter Chelsey overdosed on fentanyl and died. Since then, they said, Tierney has stood beside them in the fight to get "Chelsea's Law," or, as Tierney referred to the legislation, the "death by dealer law," passed.

The legislation gives would allow state prosecutors to charge dealers with manslaughter if the drugs kill someone, Tierney said.

The Murrays said they have been to Albany with Tierney to fight for Chelsea's Law. "The amount of work he puts in, behind the scenes — I don't think anyone else would be doing that for the residents of Suffolk County like DA Ray Tierney," Gene said.

Tierney began by thanking his family, the Suffolk GOP party, his law enforcement partners, his team, his supporters, and his constituents.

He then mentioned Suffolk County Police Officer Brendan Gallagher, fighting for his life after a high-speed chase during which he tried to stop a man driving at "95 and 100 miles per hour" on the Long Island Expressway; that car sideswiped Gallagher's police vehicle, leading to a violent rollover crash that left him gravely injured.

Tierney thanked Gallagher for his service to Suffolk County. "We are grateful for that service, and we look forward to his continued service," he said. "We all wish him a speedy recovery."

Gallagher's crash was emblematic of an escalating crisis in Suffolk County, Tierney said — a "street-racing epidemic" that's emerged across the state, not just Suffolk County. "If you engage in this type of behavior in Suffolk County, you will be held responsible for your actions," Tierney said.

Addressing "deadly driving" in Suffolk County, Tierney said: "There's carnage on our streets. If someone is driving recklessly and that results in the death of another – we need to pass comprehensive vehicular laws that reflect what's happening on the street."

Although attempts to discuss legislation on street driving laws at the state level were unsuccessful, Tierney said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and the Suffolk County legislature cracked down on street takeovers, for both participants and spectators. "Now, if you engage in this behavior in Suffolk County, we are going to take your car, forfeit that car, and hold you criminally liable," he said. "For the seriousness and importance of this, we don't have to look farther than Officer Gallagher."

Tierney also pledged to continue his war on overdoses.

In 2023, he said, there were 25 homicides in Suffolk County and in 2024, 15.

He compared that to overdoses, which numbered 465 deaths in Suffolk County in 2023. "In a year of 25 homicides, we had 465 overdoses. Each of those individuals mattered — and we will continue to fight."

But, Tierney said, help is needed. "If you look at homicides, I can charge someone with murder. But if someone sells poison knowingly to another person and that action results in a third party's death, I can't charge them. Give me the tools. I need that tool."

Reflecting on accomplishments

Reflecting on his tenure, Tierney said: "From a structural point of view, we've done a great many things."

The county's homicide bureau was re-established, and a gang bureau spotlights "violence in our streets," he said.

Also, he said, "We took a task force approach to the Gilgo investigation."

He added: "When we look at that case, the bare bones were there, but we were missing a comprehensive approach and proper leadership," Tierney said.

His team put together experts and law enforcement agency resources and "came up with results, which we are still working on," he said.

And, Tierney said, the DA's office took the same approach to all cases, that same level of comprehensive preparation and investigation.

To that end, his office targeted organized retail theft, embarking upon a comprehensive investigation including wiretaps and more; Tierney said the same approach was taken to a catalytic converter theft crackdown.

Those who want to go into businesses, stealing from them and crippling them, or who "go into people's driveways in the middle of the night and rip out the bottoms of their cars — you are going to bear the consequences of that," Tierney said.

His administration has also attacked illegal dumping, Tierney said.

There has been a full-fledged war on the opioid crisis in Suffolk County, with a reinvigorated East End Drug Task Force and a brand-new community outreach program aimed at educating young people and the elderly and holding the DA's office "accountable," Tierney said. "Given the history of Suffolk County and the history of the Suffolk County Police Department and the history of my office — the very least we can do is to hold ourselves accountable to the public and let them know that we are going to enforce the law in a fair and even-handed manner."

He has also helped to create animal abuse, environmental, and human trafficking units, Tierney said, as well as an old case unit that investigates the unsolved homicides in Suffolk County, "an offshoot of the Gilgo task force."

Bail reform

Lashing out against "so-called criminal justice reform," including discovery reform and bail reform, Tierney said, "They all passed with a lie. That lie was that by passing these laws, we will all be safer as a result. That's a lie," he said. "That's a lie. These laws do not make us more safe. They do the very opposite — make us less safe. And until they are changed — which can an easy fix, in two seconds, if the state would have the wherewithal to do it — I will not stop talking about it."

Tierney also called for stricter driving while drugged penalties, which he deemed "completely insufficient." He said driving while drugged should be treated in the same way as driving while impaired by alcohol. "We're pro public safety," he said.

Decrease in shootings

Discussing the ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology his administration embraced, Tierney said, taking a look at gun violence in Suffolk County, "50 percent of that gun violence occurs in 1 percent of our land area, over eight or nine communities, which is insane and unacceptable," endangering not just those residents but radiating outward.

When he first pitched the program, Tierney said he was told it was "never going to happen," because, detractors said, if a device marked every time a gun went off in Suffolk County, "then you can't lie about our status, and it's going to make us all look bad."

He added: "I said I didn't care. You can't ignore it. If it makes us look bad, it makes us look bad. We'll deal with it. It's the first step in addressing the problem."

Since instituting ShotSpotter, Tierney said, from 2023 to 2024, shooting incidents "dropped over 43 percent," with the number of shooting victims dropping 33 percent. "Individuals killed by gun violence dropped by 67 percent," he said.

From 2020 to 2021, the number of shooting incidents was 80 per year; from 2022 to 2024, that average was 46, he said, with 26 shootings this past year.

As for the incidents where shots were fired, Tierney said from 2020 to 2021, that number was 280. From 2023 to 2024, there were 90, or a 68 percent decrease — "a result of 36 ShotSpotter notifications."

He added: "To my earlier critics, if you do your job properly, everyone will look good."

The Suffolk County homicide rate fell by 39 percent this year, Tierney said, adding, "With 15 this year, it's the lowest homicide rate in Suffolk County since the state began keeping that statistic."

And, he said, the overall crime rate per 100,000 residents is 89, compared to 162.2 in Nassau County, 167.7 in Westchester County; 397.2 in Albany, and 526.3 in western Queens.

"We are the safest big county in the state in regard to violent crime and one of the safest big counties in the country," Tierney said, thanking the Suffolk County Police Departent and all law enforcement partners.

Looking ahead, with one more year in office, Tierney vowed: "We will not settle for mediocrity."

He promised he will not allow his candidacy to be a distraction from his work as DA.

"I'm going to continue to fight to work to make Suffolk County safe," he said.

Tierney, whose family includes his wife Erica and children Raymond, Sean, Patrick and Kaitlin, attended Brown University and got his law degree at St. John's University.

He served in private practice, then worked for the Suffolk County DA's Office, as well as the United States Attorney's Office, eastern district of New York, and the Kings County District Attorney's Office.

Tierney also spoke with Patch before the 2021 election and said he ran for office as the next District Attorney to bring "experience, ethics, and independence to an office that desperately needs it. I have been a lifelong prosecutor working for the safety and protection of the people of Suffolk County and the state. I have been given an opportunity to rid the DA's office of ineffectiveness and political gamesmanship. I look forward to continuing to serve the public."