Relates to authority of the attorney general to conduct special investigations

This legislation creates an Office of Special Investigation within the Office of the Attorney General to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute local police officers in cases whereby the death of an unarmed suspect occurs in connection with an officer's performance of his or her regular duties.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS::

Section 1 creates a new Section 63-e of the Executive Law to establish a new Office of Special Investigation. The Office is charged with investigating police officers when the death of an unarmed suspect occurs in connection with the officer's performance of his or her official duties. Proceedings of the Office are conducted by the Deputy Attorney General for the Office of Special Investigation, or his or her representative. The Office may also be petitioned to assume the investigation and prosecution of a case that involves extraordinary circumstances other than a suspect's death. In cases that involve the State Police, rather than local police, the Attorney General must appoint a special prosecutor independent of his or her office.

Section 2 is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION::

Currently under New York law, the potential for conflict is prevalent when a local prosecutor investigates and prosecutes a serious criminal offense alleged to have been committed by a police officer. This conflict arises from the day-to-day interdependency between a prosecutor and police officers as they fulfill their law enforcement duties. District attorneys must, by the nature of their professional responsibilities, maintain cooperative working relationships with their colleagues in law enforcement. But when the legality of a police officer's conduct comes into question in cases when an unarmed suspect loses his or her life, or other extraordinary circumstances are present, that cooperative working relationship is placed in jeopardy.The result is the perceived, if not actual, conflict of interest for the prosecutor.

The recent case in which a grand jury did not indict a white New York City police officer who forcibly subdued an unarmed black suspect in a mariner which may have caused the suspect's death is a case in point.The event, a recording of which was made by a bystander and posted on social media sites, raised serious questions about the legality of the officer's actions, which apparently involved a method of restraint that was of questionable necessity given the circumstances, and unacceptable with regard to the New York City Police Department's own standards.The subsequent failure of the grand jury to indict the officer on criminal charges has resulted in serious

tension between police and members of the communities they are sworn to serve and protect. It has also raised the questions of whether the relationship be- tween district attorneys and the police departments that enforce the law within their jurisdiction creates a conflict of interest that is detrimental to the fair and equal enforcement of justice in cases that involve police conduct. Such questions cause serious damage to the confidence all New Yorkers should have in their justice system.

This legislation will help restore public confidence in our legal system by placing investigative and prosecutorial authority within the Attorney General's office in cases where the death of an unarmed suspect occurs in connection with a local police officer or officers' performance of his or her official duties Since the State Attorney General's relationship with local law enforcement is more autonomous, this new office is a necessary tool to ensure effective and independent prosecution of such cases.

To avoid a similar appearance of conflict of interest in cases involving the State Police, with whom the Office of the Attorney General has a closer relationship, the Attorney General must distance his or her office further by appointing a special, independent prosecutor to assume the duties and responsibilities of the Office of Special Investigation.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::

New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::

Limited additional costs readily absorbed by the Department of Law.

EFFECTIVE DATE::

This act shall take effect immediately.