Bill Text: NY A03609 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires police officers to report the misconduct of a police officer; requires the division of criminal justice to establish a protocol to be followed by police agencies when handling and recording mandatory reports of misconduct by a police officer; establishes the crime of failure to report misconduct by a police officer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to governmental operations [A03609 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03609-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3609

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. RAMOS, JACKSON, MEEKS, FORREST, GIBBS, ANDERSON
          -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring police offi-
          cers to report the misconduct of a police officer  and  requiring  the
          division of criminal justice to establish a protocol to be followed by
          police  agencies  when  handling  and  recording  mandatory reports of
          misconduct by a police  officer;  and  to  amend  the  penal  law,  in
          relation  to establishing the crime of failure to report misconduct by
          a police officer

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 837 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
     2  subdivision 24 to read as follows:
     3    24.  Promulgate  a  standardized  and  detailed written protocol to be
     4  followed by police agencies for the handling and recording of  mandatory
     5  reports  of  misconduct  by  a  police  officer  as required pursuant to
     6  section eight hundred thirty-seven-x of this article. The protocol shall
     7  include provisions protecting police officers who are mandated to report
     8  misconduct from retaliation against such officer as a result  of  filing
     9  such  report. The division shall also promulgate a standardized "officer
    10  misconduct incident report form" for  use  by  police  agencies  in  the
    11  reporting, recording and investigation of all alleged incidents of offi-
    12  cer  misconduct,  regardless of whether an arrest is made as a result of
    13  such investigation. Such form shall be prepared in multiple  parts,  one
    14  of  which  shall  be  immediately  forwarded  to the division, and shall
    15  include designated spaces for: the recordation of  the  results  of  the
    16  investigation  by  the police agency and the basis for any action taken;
    17  the recordation of the reporting officer's  allegations  of  misconduct;
    18  and  immediately thereunder a space on which the reporting officer shall
    19  sign and verify his or her  allegations.  Such  protocol  shall  include
    20  provisions  regarding  the  failure to report misconduct which, notwith-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02698-01-3
        A. 3609                             2

     1  standing any provision of  a  labor  contract  to  the  contrary,  shall
     2  authorize  the  police  agency to terminate from employment and/or bring
     3  criminal charges against the officer who failed to  report  the  miscon-
     4  duct.
     5    §  2.  The  executive  law is amended by adding a new section 837-x to
     6  read as follows:
     7    § 837-x. Mandatory reporting of misconduct. Every police officer shall
     8  be required to report in accordance with this section when he or she has
     9  reasonable cause to suspect that a police officer, acting in his or  her
    10  professional or official capacity, has used excessive force or otherwise
    11  acted  with misconduct in relation to the use of excessive force.  When-
    12  ever such officer is required to report under this section,  he  or  she
    13  shall  immediately  notify his or her police agency, which then shall be
    14  responsible to forward such report to the division  and  to  follow  the
    15  protocol established by the division pursuant to subdivision twenty-four
    16  of section eight hundred thirty-seven of this article.  A police officer
    17  who  fails  to  comply  with  the  requirements of this section shall be
    18  charged with failure to report misconduct by a police  officer  pursuant
    19  to section 195.01 of the penal law.
    20    §  3.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 195.01 to read
    21  as follows:
    22  § 195.01 Failure to report misconduct by a police officer.
    23    A police officer is guilty of failure to report misconduct by a police
    24  officer when he or she:
    25    1.  has reasonable cause to suspect that a police officer,  acting  in
    26  his  or  her professional or official capacity, has used excessive force
    27  or otherwise acted with misconduct in relation to the use  of  excessive
    28  force; and
    29    2.  fails  to  report  such misconduct as required pursuant to section
    30  eight hundred thirty-seven-x of the executive law.
    31    Failure to report misconduct by a police officer is a class D felony.
    32    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.