4 minSociety
Suffolk County Police Union Leader Says Protester Tracked Him to His Home
A Suffolk County police officer and union president says a protester he arrested later found his home and harassed his family, as a coalition of 99 unions pushes New York lawmakers for stronger protections against doxxing and harassment of public employees.
A Suffolk County police officer and union leader said a protester he had arrested later tracked down his home address and staged a demonstration outside his house, an incident he cited as evidence that New York law leaves officers and their families exposed to harassment.
Louis Civello, president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, described the episode during an event organized by the New York State Public Safety Alliance, which is pressing state lawmakers for stronger legal protections for law enforcement officers and other public employees. Civello said he arrested the individual in early 2026 for trespassing at his office, and that the person then decided to find his address and appear at his home with a billboard truck.
«That wasn't enough for this individual,» Civello said. «He then decided he was going to find my address, came to my home with a billboard truck.» He argued that there is only one reason for a protester to go to an officer's residence rather than a police facility. «I'm a public figure. Everyone knows where my building is in Suffolk County. There are seven police precincts in Suffolk County that you can protest in front of if you so choose,» he said. «You only come to my home to terrorize my family, to get at me via my wife and my children.»
Civello said the harassment his family endured was not an isolated case but part of a broader pattern facing officers. He used the account to argue that New York's protections are inadequate, particularly on privacy. «The laws are woefully inadequate, and they're gonna get worse if we don't work to fix them,» he said, adding that there is currently no law against appearing at an officer's home or publishing an officer's address. «If you want to look me up, look any police officer up, look any of us up, it's a few clicks of a mouse.»
Civello called for an anti-doxxing statute and questioned why New York has not adopted a version of a Florida law that shields first responders from harassment after they issue a warning. «Why don't we have an anti-doxxing law? Why don't we have laws that make sense?» he asked.
Other law enforcement leaders at the event made similar appeals. Scott Munro, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, said officers are seeking a modest buffer zone for safety. «All we're asking for is fifteen foot,» Munro said. «Fifteen foot, that's all we're asking for, for safety reasons.»
Munro said the alliance has assembled a coalition of 99 unions, including firefighters, traffic agents, sanitation enforcement agents, environmental police and bus drivers, reflecting what he described as a shared problem of civilian violence against public employees. He pointed to transit workers as an example. «It's because they're assaulted every day, they're in their faces every day,» he said. «Assaults are up, almost 2,500 assaults this year alone on police officers, felony assaults, and public servants in New York City. That's what's going on.»
The push comes as law enforcement groups argue that existing rules do not adequately address harassment that follows officers home or the online publication of their personal information. Civello framed the issue as a turning point for the profession. «We are at an inflection point. This job is harder than ever before,» he said.
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