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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to photographing or recording a law enforcement officer
Purpose
To establish that a person is permitted to exercise their right to photograph or record a law enforcement officer.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends section 195.05 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 269 of the laws of 1998, by providing that a person is permitted to exercise their right to photograph or record a law enforcement officer performing their duties while the officer is in a public place or public view, or the person is in a private place they have a right to be. The officer shall not intentionally interfere with the photograph or recording; detain, arrest, threaten, intimidate or otherwise harass such person; search or size the device without permission or a warrant; or damage or destroy the device. This shall not apply if the officer is in the act of placing such person under arrest or the person is under arrest. If an officer violates this provision, such person shall have a civil cause of action against the officer and the officer's law enforcement agency.
Section 2 of the bill provides this act shall take effect immediately.
Existing law
A person is guilty of obstructing governmental administration in the second degree when he obstructs the administration of law. There are currently no provisions clarifying that photographing and recording law enforcement officers are permitted by law.
Justification
With nationwide calls for more transparency and accountability among law enforcement, including pushes for police body cameras, clarifying that persons may photograph and record the police - and providing for a civil cause of action to recover damages caused by interference with such actions - will help bolster the public's trust in our law enforcement system.
Legislative history
New bill
Fiscal implications
None
Local fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.