What's happening
The bill requires police officers accused of egregious misconduct to be reassigned to desk duty without their weapon and badge during investigations.
Why it matters
Establishes a clear, mandatory process. The bill requires that any police or peace officer credibly identified (by video or other evidence) as engaging in serious misconduct must immediately be relieved of their weapon and badge and reassigned to desk duty while the case is investigated, ensuring they do not remain in a position to potentially harm the public or obstruct the investigation.
Covers a wide range of misconduct. The misconduct triggering reassignment includes not only excessive force (police brutality) but also intimidation, racial profiling, planting or fabricating evidence, unwarranted searches, violations of department procedures, and abuse of authority, addressing multiple avenues for abuse of power.
Mandates a prompt preliminary investigation. Departments are required to quickly determine whether formal charges of incompetency or misconduct should be brought, aiming to prevent officers from languishing in limbo and to restore those cleared of wrongdoing to full status in a timely manner.
Applies retroactively and going forward. The law is designed to cover both new incidents and any cases already pending at the time it takes effect, signaling a commitment to immediate reform and accountability, not just for future cases but for ongoing investigations as well.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Desk Duty for Investigated Police
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to governmental employees
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
10647
IN ASSEMBLY
June 17, 2020
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Perry) -read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to the re-assignment of police officers pending certain investigations and hearings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "one bad apple police bad behavior prevention law".
§ 2. Section 75 of the civil service law is amended by adding a new subdivision 3-b to read as follows:
3-b. Re-assignment of police officers pending investigation. (a) If a video or other evidence exists identifying a police or peace officer engaging in egregious behavior including, but not limited to, police brutality, intimidation, racial profiling, planting or fabricating evidence, unwarranted search and seizure, violating department procedures, and abuse of authority, the commissioner of police, chief officer of the department or any officer so authorized to execute such an order shall relieve the officer of his or her weapon and badge, and assign the officer to desk duty pending the investigation of and hearing and determination of charges of incompetency or misconduct.
(b) When an incident involving conduct described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision occurs, the department shall conduct an expeditious preliminary investigation to determine whether charges of incompetency or misconduct should be brought against the officer. If the preliminary investigation determines that charges should not be brought against the officer, the department may restore the officer to full status and return his or her weapon and badge. If the preliminary investigation determines that charges should be brought against the officer, the investigation and hearing of charges of incompetency or misconduct shall proceed and the department shall not restore the officer to full status nor return his or her weapon and badge until a determination regarding charges of incompetency or misconduct has been made.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to cases pending or arising on or after such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16647-02-0
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.