ROCKLAND – The chief justice of the New York state court system suffered a broken leg while walking on the Rockland Breakwater on Thursday.

Rockland Police Chief Alfred Ockenfels said Judith Kaye and her husband, Stephen, were staying at the nearby Samoset Resort as part of a national conference of state chief justices and court administrators. Kaye began her term as president of the national chief justices group this week.

The Kayes were walking the breakwater with Maine’s former chief justice, Vincent McKusick, and his wife, Ockenfels said.

The breakwater was built with large boxlike rocks piled in rows. The surface is uneven, and people often are injured when they fall into the deep cracks between the rocks.

The city responded to the accident report in its new harbor patrol boat, which docked at a float moored to the breakwater, Ockenfels said. Kaye was taken by boat to the city landing, where an ambulance was waiting to take her to Penobscot Bay Medical Center, the chief said.

“We’re fortunate to have the boat,” he said. “It’s an invaluable tool for the Police Department.”