Suffolk County – Last Friday, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon (D) was sworn in for a third four-year term.
First elected in 2017, Toulon narrowly defeated Lawrence Zacarese (R-Kings Park) in a down-to-the-wire race that saw Toulon win by just over 2,000 votes out of nearly 300,000 ballots cast.
In the good Republican year of 2021, Toulon defeated William Amato (R) by a solid eleven-point margin, even as the red wave saw Ray Tierney (R) sweep then-District Attorney Tim Sini (D-Mt. Sinai) out of office.
In November 2025, Toulon was unopposed for the general election. Having secured the Conservative line as well, Toulon won a third term with over 165,000 votes.
Dr. Toulon told The Messenger then, “I am deeply grateful to the residents of Suffolk County for their continued trust and support in the work I’ve done as Sheriff. I look forward to serving four more years and continuing the initiatives I’ve started, like rehabilitation programs, leveraging intelligence to protect our communities, and expanding efforts to support our youth. Together with our law enforcement partners, I will continue to work to strengthen the safety, security, and future of Suffolk County.”
Local officials, law enforcement, and even New York Attorney General Letitia James (D-Clinton Hill) gathered at the Van Nostrand Theatre at the Brentwood campus of Suffolk Community College to witness Toulon take the oath of office.
Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) discussed his father’s and grandfather’s service as police officers, saying it has guided his perspective on legislating in Washington. LaLota added that Congress had just passed a $1.2 million appropriation for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department for vehicles for the deputy sheriffs and corrections officers.
“We understand our mission, ” said LaLota. “Elected officials on both sides of the aisle have a perspective that we need to ensure that Suffolk County remains a safe and prosperous county. I know that our partnership is very focused on that.”
LaLota added that the recent congressional funding is a testament to how Toulon has run his department for the last eight years.
Congressman Pat Ryan (D, NY-18), who represents West Point, invoked President Theodore Roosevelt’s (R-NY) “man in the arena” speech, likening the qualities to Sheriff Toulon and adding that Suffolk is “fortunate” to have such a public servant.
“For decades, Sheriff Toulon has chosen the arena,” said Ryan. “He has never stood on the sidelines. He has taken on difficult assignments, accepted enormous responsibility, and led during many moments where true leadership mattered.”
Brookhaven Deputy Town Supervisor and Councilman Neil Foley (R-Blue Point) called Toulon a “friend and mentor,” also citing his professorship, three-time cancer survivor status, and a hockey player – “a tough guy in a good way.”
“If you ever want to be humbled, never, ever ask Errol to see his résumé. It’s about forty pages long,” said Foley. He added that since Suffolk, a county of 1.6 million and larger than eleven states, it takes significant leadership to run it. “Suffolk County is the safest county on Long Island,” said Foley.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) hailed Toulon as a “leader who has done so much for law enforcement” in Suffolk and a “partner who works with everyone,” including the County Legislature, the County Comptroller, and the District Attorney.
“He is someone who advances the Sheriff’s agenda because there is great respect for the professionalism he’s demonstrated,” said Romaine. “He’s come a long way since he first entered Rikers Island, following his father’s footsteps. He knows what law enforcement is about and has brought that knowledge to this office. We are lucky in Suffolk to have a sheriff of his caliber.”
Toulon took the podium to deliver his third inaugural speech, but not before being sworn into office by his father, Errol Toulon, Sr., and accompanied by his wife Tina. He cited his father’s “love, support, and guidance” for shaping his character, and his wife’s support as his “rock.”
The three-term Sheriff with a career spanning over five decades said that he would “not take this privilege lightly.”
“I will not let the residents of Suffolk County down,” said Toulon. “When I began my tenure in 2018, I had one clear mission: to make the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office the best in the country – not just the best in law enforcement, but the best in what government can and should be.”
Toulon added that he is “proud” of what has been built, but the work is far from over. He invoked the saying of the plaque resting above the exit in the Yaphank facility, “I want to get to the kids before they get to me.”
“Throughout my tenure as Sheriff, I have visited one or two schools every week, from Amityville to Montauk, North Shore to South Shore, talking to students about the challenges they face every day – their fears, pressures, frustrations, and dreams,” said Toulon. He added that that commitment was expanded upon with the recent launching of the Sheriff’s Student Ambassador program, with programs already underway in the Central Islip and Patchogue-Medford school districts. The spring will see the program expanded to Wyandanch.
“This program helps us understand their world and to empower them to shape the future of Suffolk County,” said Toulon, acknowledging such ambassadors in the audience.
Toulon remarked that eight years ago, he pledged to make the office a national model for rehabilitation and re-entry, adding that his father’s service on Rikers Island was described as rehabilitating men and women in jail. His father’s view on the role of law enforcement has been an integral part of his career.
“I believe that jail can be a turning point and a moment to intervene and to help someone become more than just a statistic,” said Toulon. “Inside the jails in Riverhead and Yaphank, we’ve built programs that uniquely work to guide incarcerated individuals to success. We bring in parents who have lost loved ones to substance abuse to act as a credible messenger to get through to those in our custody and help guide them to recovery. We have dog rescue training and parenting classes to teach responsibility and accountability.”
Toulon also mentioned the trades and skills courses offered to inmates, such as HVAC, electricity, plumbing, carpentry, landscaping, and small engine repair. Photography, crossfit, yoga, and memoir writing are also staples, and Toulon said the crossfit program fetches “great results,” as ex-cons who leave the Sheriff’s custody “continue their classes that are a pillar of their sobriety and a community to fall back on.”
Appropriate programming is also available for women, seniors, and Veterans who find themselves in custody of the Sheriff as well.
“85% of the men and women in our jails are returning back to our communities. While they are with us, we have an opportunity to assist them in becoming the best that they can be so they can be productive members of our county,” said Toulon of rehabilitation as a concept and a practice. “But how do we expect to succeed if we don’t give them the tools to make that happen?”
In 2020, the Sheriff’s office launched the Sheriff’s Transition and Reentry Team (START) Resource Center in 2020, a program that “works with the incarcerated being released to ensure a warm hand-off into the community.”
“START provides everything from IDs and clothing, to housing, job training, and substance abuse and mental health treatment,” said Toulon. “START participants have achieved remarkable success, many securing jobs, promotions, and even leadership roles.”
Indeed, the program has become a national model. While national and state recidivism rates hover around 40%, participants of the START program in Suffolk see a recidivism rate of below 20%.
Sheriff Toulon’s tenure has seen another first-in-the-nation program, the Sheriff’s Anti-Trafficking Initiative. Launched in 2018, it’s the first in-custody human trafficking unit of its kind in the nation. The unit identifies victims in custody, connects them with the services they need, and supports the work of the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), the District Attorney, and the FBI – including those on the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force.
In 2023, Toulon took the practice of intelligence sharing to the next level with the launch of the Corrections Intelligence Center, an “archetype of intelligence sharing between jails and prisons which now has nearly 200 partners both nationally and internationally.”
“This center allows us to share info on gangs, contraband, trafficking, criminal networks, and emerging threats,” said Toulon. “We are ensuring Suffolk County remains safe and prepared.”
Toulon highlighted increased training and investments, including the expanded Domestic Violence Unit, increased transparency at “every level,” and the fostering of a culture of mental health and peer support within the rank-and-file.
“We did all this – every program, every innovation – without increasing our operating budget by one, single cent,” said Toulon. “If we can save one life and prevent even one tragedy, it will have ripple effects across Suffolk County.”
“Above all, I am grateful for the chance to serve this County, for the trust you have put in me – not once, not twice, but three times. I promise, I will not let you down,”said Toulon. “It’s because of you and everyone here, this is the best damn Sheriff’s office in the United States of America.”
