What's happening
This bill prohibits grand juries from investigating police shootings or use of excessive force that result in civilian death or injury.
Why it matters
Shifts Accountability Process. By removing grand juries from investigating police shootings or excessive force cases, the bill changes who decides if police officers face criminal charges, potentially increasing prosecutorial discretion or leaving such cases to alternative review mechanisms.
Aims to Address Perceived Grand Jury Bias. The bill may respond to criticism that grand juries rarely indict police officers, aiming to prevent perceived conflicts of interest or lack of transparency in handling cases of police violence against civilians.
Could Impact Public Trust and Officer Prosecutions. The removal of grand jury investigations in these cases might affect public confidence—either increasing trust among those who see grand juries as ineffective, or raising concerns about due process protections for officers.
Prompts Need for New Oversight Structures. The legislation implicitly requires the state to develop alternative procedures or bodies for investigating and potentially charging officers in serious use-of-force incidents, which could have wide-ranging effects on the legal process and police accountability.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Grand Jury Police Probes
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5046
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 6, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to prohibiting a grand jury from inquiring into an offense or misconduct that involves a shooting or use of excessive force by a police officer or peace officer that led or leads to the death or personal injury of a civilian
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 190.55 of the criminal procedure law is amended to read as follows:
1. (a) A grand jury may hear and examine evidence concerning the alleged commission of any offense prosecutable in the courts of the county, and concerning any misconduct, nonfeasance or neglect in public office by a public servant, whether criminal or otherwise.
(b) A grand jury shall not inquire into an offense or misconduct that involves a shooting or use of excessive force by a police officer and/or peace officer, as defined in sections 1.20 and 2.10 of this chapter respectively, that led or leads to the death or personal injury of a civilian.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00225-02-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to prohibiting a grand jury from inquiring into an offense or misconduct that involves a shooting or use of excessive force by a police officer or peace officer that led or leads to the death or personal injury of a civilian
Purpose or general idea of bill
In the interest of justice, transparency and accountability, this legislation amends the criminal procedure law, in relation to prohibiting a grand jury from inquiring into an offense or misconduct that involves a shooting or use of excessive force by a police officer or peace officer that led or leads to the death or personal injury of a civilian. In place of the "secret" grand jury, a preliminary hearing, in front of the public and a Judge will occur.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. Subdivision i of section 190.55 of the criminal procedure law is amended to read as follows:
Read the full memo (663 words)
(b) a grand jury shall not inquire into an offense or misconduct that involves a shooting or use of excessive force by a police officer and/or peace officer, as defined in section 2.10 of this chapter, that led or leads to the death or personal injury of a civilian.
Justification
Governor Cuomo's appointment of a Special Prosecutor to handle cases relating to deaths of unarmed civilians caused by law enforcement officers is a correct first step in reforming a fundamentally broke and often racist criminal justice system-but it is a modest and limited step. This legislation goes much further down the road of comprehensiveness and transparency by ending "secret" grand juries for cases of a shooting or use of excessive force by law enforcement official.
The relationship between police officers and prosecutors is so close that is it often incestuous. Those who work on the same team and rely upon each other may be overrun by sinister motives in cases that involve misconduct, excessive force, racism, or flat-out murder by police officers. There is a clear conflict of interest in these cases, and "secret" grand jury proceedings exacerbate this fact because they lack any type of public accountability.
For example, we still do not know all the details of the Richmond Country Grand Jury proceedings in the chokehold murder of Eric Garner by Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
We know there was video evidence and many first-hand accounts; we even heard Mr. Garner utter the immortal last words "I can't breathe," as life was literally taken from him by the police. Yet, there was no indictment and the records of the secret proceedings remain sealed. We don't know how hard or how tenaciously District Attorney Donovan even pushed for an indictment of a clear murderer; or even if he did at all.
Even the perception that his commitment wavered, in the face of direct video evidence of a high crime as clear as day, harms the reality of our system and the day to day lives of people of color, who wonder if they will be the next victim to have their cries of injustice fall upon deaf ears and closed minds behind closed doors.
The crisis we face in the City, State and Country demands a higher standard of accountability in the cases in which a law enforcement officer shoots or uses excessive force.
"Secret" grand juries must give way to preliminary hearings in front of the public, for all to see, presided over by a Judge.
Letting the light of day, and the rays of transparency into a once "secret" process-where family members, friends and loved ones of the victim are present-is the bare minimum we can do to ensure accountability in our system, as we continue to work to repair it.
Prior legislative history
2015-16: 5.6038 (PERKINS) - REFERRED TO CODES
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.