I think they are counting on the ability to refer to private staff members as being "police" in an effort to provide more credibility than just calling them "security". If questioned about this, they would likely claim that there was little chance of anyone confusing the Yonker's Raceway Police with any real law enforcement agency. I would contend that they are walking a very fine line, but also do not think they are in violation of any specific provision of NY law. The only party who would have any standing to really complain about the badges would be local law enforcement in Yonkers. What's interesting is that, whatever attorney approved the use of the term police has really not considered all of the potential ramifications that might exist if those security guards cause injury to a patron. The patch is not a representation of state-sponsored law enforcement and therefore doesn't violate any specific law, however, I would suspect a call from the local DA or prosecuting attorney would result in their prompt removal.
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