CARMEL – Putnam County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Osika has been suspended from the sheriff’s department following his arrest by State Police on charges of assault and aggravated harassment resulting from an alleged domestic incident last weekend.
Troop K Public Information Officer Trooper Krystal Paolicelli said when patrols arrived at the residence, they determined that the 43-year-old Osika had been involved in a physical altercation.
Osika is married to Putnam Legislator Erin Lee Crowley who serves as deputy district director for Congressman Michael Lawler.
Osika, a 10-year member of the force, was arraigned in Southeast and was released without bail pending a future court hearing in Carmel Town Court. A magistrate also issued a temporary order of protection.
On Monday afternoon, Sheriff Brian Hess said Osika, who serves as vice president of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department Police Benevolent Association, has been suspended without pay while the department conducts an internal investigation.
The sheriff added that Osika also surrendered his county-owned firearms in addition to a police car that he took home after hours.
In the summer of 2019, Deputy Osika was recognized as New York State’s First Responder of the Month for saving the life of a man who was about to jump to his death from the Veterans Memorial Bridge that carries I-84 over the Village of Brewster.
At the time then-Sheriff Robert Langley lauded Osika for “going well beyond the call of duty by placing his own life at risk of falling off the bridge while wrestling to save the life of the individual.”
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