Requires police officers to notify family members in person of a relative's death in certain circumstances

1 Co-sponsor

• Leroy Comrie

BILL NUMBER:S2750

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring police officers to notify family members in person of a relative's death in certain circumstances

Purpose

Require police officers to notify a family member in person, when a relative has died.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:;

Section 1. Act shall be known as Valeria's Law.

Section 2. In each motor vehicle accident or any other event or incident in which any person is killed who was not in violation of the law, the police officer, or agency, or individual who in the regular course of duty investigates such event shall use reasonable efforts to identify and notify in person a member of the person's family or household.

Existing law

None exists.

Justification

Receiving the news that a loved one or a family member has died is a very emotion filled occurrence. The family members may be on an emotional roller coaster at that time and it is important to be there in person to provide them with outlets, or resources they can go to or use to help them cope with their loss.

In one such notification a police officer taped a yellow sticky note to the family's front door telling them to call the morgue because their daughter had been killed. Also cited were families who frequently received death notifications over the telephone. In one such telephone delivery, a father suffered a heart attack and subsequently died following the notification from a Medical examiner's employee seeking dental records for his son who had died in a vehicle fire. An Omaha, Nebraska Police officer was fired after leaving a death notification on a family's answering machine.

Legislative history

2013-14: S.914- referred to Transportation 2011-12: S.3141 - Died in Rules

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the Ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.