N.Y. Gov. Cuomo Signs Sweeping Police Reforms Into Law, Says They're 'Long Overdue'

[NYC Liberal]

Source: CBS

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed sweeping police reform bills into law, notably banning chokeholds and repealing a hotly contested state law known as “50A,” which kept officers’ disciplinary records confidential.

“Police reform is long overdue,” said Cuomo. “[George] Floyd’s murder is just the most recent murder. This is not just about Mr. Floyd’s murder. It’s about being here before, many, many times before.”

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Rev. Al Sharpton joined Cuomo at the bill signing.

Cuomo also issued an executive order requiring local governments and police departments to develop a plan to modernize police strategies and programs.

Read more: https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/06/12/n-y-gov-cuomo-signs-sweeping-police-reforms-into-law-says-theyre-long-overdue/

[Midnightwalk]

1. Here's a list of the bils:

Only grabbed the first 4 (that's the rule right?). The rest are at the link below:

Senate Bill S.8496: This legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jamaal Bailey, will repeal section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law that provides additional protections to the personnel records of police officers, firefighters, and correction officers. This protection has been interpreted to include disciplinary records of law enforcement officers. This repeal would subject these records to FOIL, just as all other records kept by public agencies, while protecting the sensitive personal contact and health information of these officers.

Senate Bill S.2574B: This legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jamaal Bailey, will create an Office of Special Investigation within the Department of Law, under the Attorney General, which will investigate, and, if warranted, prosecute any incident of a person whose death was caused by a police officer or peace officer.

Senate Bill S.3253B: This legislation, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Parker, will clarify that a person not under arrest or in the custody has the right to record police activity and to maintain custody and control of that recording, and of any property or instruments used to record police activities.

Senate Bill S.6670B: This legislation, the “Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act,” sponsored by Sen. Brian Benjamin, will prohibit the use of chokeholds by law enforcement and establish the crime of aggravated strangulation as a Class-C felony.

[link:https://www.syracuse.com/state/2020/06/read-the-legislation-ny-lawmakers-to-pass-10-police-reform-bills-today.html|]

[NYC Liberal]

2. Here's all of them taken from ny.gov, which shouldn't have a copyright issue:

Senate Bill S.8496: This legislation will repeal section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law that provides additional protections to the personnel records of police officers, firefighters, and correction officers. This protection has been interpreted to include disciplinary records of law enforcement officers. This repeal would subject these records to FOIL, as are all other records kept by public agencies, while protecting the sensitive personal contact and health information of these officers.

· Senate Bill S.2574B: This legislation will create an Office of Special Investigation within the Department of Law, under the Attorney General, which will investigate, and, if warranted, prosecute any incident of a person whose death was caused by a police officer or peace officer.

· Senate Bill S.3253B: This legislation will clarify that a person not under arrest or in police custody has the right to record police activity and to maintain custody and control of that recording, and of any property or instruments used to record police activities.

· Senate Bill S.6670B: This legislation, the "Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act," will prohibit the use of chokeholds by law enforcement and establish the crime of aggravated strangulation as a Class-C felony.

· Senate Bill S.3595B: This legislation will establish the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office within the Department of Law to review, study, audit and make recommendations regarding operations, policies, programs and practices of local law enforcement agencies. The goal of this legislation is to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement, increase public safety, protect civil liberties and civil rights, ensure compliance with constitutional protections and local, state and federal laws, and increase the public's confidence in law enforcement.

· Senate Bill S.1830C: This legislation, the Police Statistics and Transparency (STAT) Act, will require courts to compile and publish racial and other demographic data of all low- level offenses, including misdemeanors and violations. The bill also requires police departments to submit annual reports on arrest-related deaths to the Department of Criminal Justice Services and to the Governor and the Legislature.

· Senate Bill S.8492: This legislation establishes a private right of action for a member of a protected class when another person summons a police or peace officer on them without reason to suspect a crime or an imminent threat to person or property existed.
· Senate Bill S.6601A: This legislation will amend the Civil Rights Law by adding a new section that affirms New Yorkers’ right to medical and mental health attention while in custody.

· Senate Bill S.8493: This legislation, the New York State Police Body-Worn Cameras Program, will direct the Division of State Police to provide all State police officers with body-worn cameras that are to be used any time an officer conducts a patrol and prescribes mandated situations when the camera is to be turned on and recording.

· Senate Bill S.2575B: This legislation will require state and local law enforcement officers, as well as peace officers, to report, within six hours, when they discharge their weapon where a person could have been struck, whether they were on or off duty.

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/2020/liz-krueger/update-police-reform-legislation