Relates to the crime of unlawful wearing of a body vest

BILL NUMBER:S5850

Title of bill

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the unlawful wearing of a body vest

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of this bill would amend Penal Law Section 270.20 to expand the circumstances under which a defendant may be charged with Unlawful Wearing of a Body Vest, a class E felony. The current statute provides that the felony is committed when a person wears the body vest in the course of and in furtherance of committing a violent felony and while possessing a firearm, rifle, or shotgun. The bill would expand the circumstances under which wearing the body vest would constitute a felony to include instances where a person commits a class A felony, other than a felony contained in Penal Law Article 220 involving controlled substances, or any degree of assault or reckless endangerment, while possessing or appearing to possess a firearm, rifle, shotgun, deadly weapon, dangerous instrument, or ammunition.

In addition, the bill would amend Section 270.20 to make it a Class E felony to wear a body vest while committing a violent felony offense or a class A felony, other than a felony contained in Penal Law Article 220 involving controlled substances, having been convicted within the prior ten years of any such offense.

Reasons for support

The City is committed to preserving and continuing longstanding overall reductions in major felony crime in New York City. As the City continues its commitment to achieve even greater crime reductions, it recognizes the need for increased vigilance in protecting those who have contributed most directly to crime's overall decline -- police officers. Despite the drop in the City's crime rate, police officers remain vulnerable to persistent threats to their safety, as evidenced by recent tragedies. Disturbing incidents of persons attacking police officers abound, and individuals with criminal intentions are armed with an escalating level of firepower. Some of these individuals take advantage of the protection offered by bullet-resistant vests and other body armor, wearing them during the commission of violent crimes in order to facilitate their crimes and evade apprehension by responding police officers.

The increased levels of aggressiveness and confidence that wearing body armor fosters in those with violent criminal intent place police officers, and the public at large, in serious danger. This bill strengthens the deterrent effect of the current prohibition contained in the Penal Law by expanding the circumstances under which the wearing of a body vest is a felony crime to include circumstances that are not covered by the current law. For example, if the perpetrator of a hatchet attack on a police officer were to wear a body vest, wearing the vest would not be a crime under current law since a hatchet, despite being readily capable of causing death, is not a "firearm, rifle or shotgun."

This legislation accounts for the many dangerous circumstances in which an individual intent on committing a crime might seek the advantage of wearing a body vest. The bill also prohibits an individual who has previously committed a violent crime from wearing a body vest in order to facilitate committing another violent crime. Body armor should be reserved for those who need it for lawful protection, such as police officers and others who reasonably fear bodily harm, rather than those who use it to help them hurt others.

Accordingly, the Mayor urges the earliest possible favorable consideration of this proposal by the Legislature.