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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week that the "Say Their Name" reform agenda following the murder of George Floyd and an ongoing pattern of police brutality against minority communities across the nation. The Governor said he will work with the State Legislature to get these policies done next week.

The list of policy priorities builds on earlier proposals he called for in the immediate aftermath of the killing of George Floyd and prior executive actions he has taken including appointing the Attorney General as a special prosecutor in matters relating to the deaths of unarmed civilians caused by law enforcement.

The 'Say Their Name' Reform agenda includes:

• Allow for transparency of prior disciplinary records of law enforcement officers by reforming 50-a of the civil rights law;
• Banning chokeholds by law enforcement officers;
• Prohibiting false race-based 911 reports and making them a crime; and
• Designating the Attorney General as an independent prosecutor for matters relating to the deaths of unarmed civilians caused by law enforcement.

"Mr. Floyd's murder was the breaking point of a long list of deaths that were unnecessary and abusive, and people are saying enough is enough, we must change and we must stop the abuse," Governor Cuomo said. "Stopping police abuse vindicates the overwhelming majority - 99.9 percent - of police who are there to do the right thing. It restores the confidence, the respect, and the trust that you need to make this relationship work. You have to heal the police-community relationship for the sake of the police and for the sake of the community. As the progressive capital of the nation New York should be at the forefront of this movement, and I want to work with the Legislature to pass these policy priorities next week to reform our systems and put a stop to this abuse once and for all."

On Monday Speaker Carl Heastie announced that the Assembly would pass a package of legislation this week to protect New Yorkers, improve police and community relations, and bring transparency and accountability to the criminal justice system.

"The Assembly Majority has fought tirelessly over the years to deliver meaningful and necessary criminal justice reforms for our state. This week we will continue to build on those reforms, answering the calls of people from across New York and the country," Speaker Heastie said. "We have accomplished a lot, from Raising the Age to reforming speedy trial, discovery and the bail system, but we know our work is not yet finished. We will continue fighting this week and beyond to improve police and community relations, and to create a more fair and equitable system for all people."

Heastie didn't waste any time. Monday the Assembly passed the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, which would criminalize the harmful use of a chokehold by a police officer (A.6144-B, Mosley). The act would create a new crime of aggravated strangulation. This offense would occur when a police or peace officer, using a chokehold or similar restraint, applies pressure to the throat or windpipe of a person, hindering breathing or the intake of air, and causes serious physical injury or death. This would be a class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The Assembly also passed legislation Monday that would that require law enforcement officers that discharge their weapon in circumstances where a person could be struck by a bullet from a weapon must promptly report the incident (A.927-A, Perry).

Under current statutes, law enforcement officers are not required to report the discharge of a weapon, even in circumstances where a person may have been struck. This legislation would change that, requiring that police and peace officers, whether on or off duty, verbally report discharge of a firearm where a person could have been struck within six hours of the incident, followed by a written report within 48 hours. This change will aid in upholding the professional dignity of our police officers, in addition to saving state resources. This bill seeks to keep the bond between police officers and the community intact.

The Assembly passed the Police Statistic and Transparency (STAT) Act, which would provide for collection of data concerning police and court activities, in order to promote transparency and help researchers and the public evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice policies.

Under the STAT Act, the Office of Court Administration (OCA) would be required to compile limited, anonymized data concerning misdemeanor and lower-level arrests and court processing (A.10609, Lentol). The data to be collected and reported by county would include:

• the number of misdemeanor offenses and violations charged;
• the type of misdemeanor or violation charged;
• the race, ethnicity, age and sex of the individual charged;
• whether the individual was issued a summons or appearance ticket, was subject to custodial arrest, and whether an arraignment was held as a result of the charge;
• precinct or location where the offense is alleged to have occurred;
• disposition of the case;
• if the case was dismissed, the basis for dismissal; and
• the sentence imposed, including fines, fees and surcharges.

The legislation would also require the chief of every police department, every county sheriff, and the superintendent of state police to promptly report to the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) all arrest-related deaths. The data required to be reported to DCJS would include:

• the number of arrest-related deaths in each county;
• race, ethnicity, age and sex of each such individual;
• zip code or location where the death occurred; and
• a brief description of the circumstances surrounding each death.

The chief administrator of the courts would be required to include this information in the OCA's annual report. The data collected, without personal identifying information, would be made available to the public online, and updated monthly.

Heastie also announced the Assembly has passed legislation that would create a civil penalty for the biased misuse of emergency services, such as 911, when there is no reason to believe a crime or offense, or imminent threat to person or property, is occurring.

Under the bill, any person who summons a police officer or peace officer without reason to suspect a violation of the law, any other criminal conduct, or an imminent threat to a person or property, but motivated instead by a belief or perception regarding race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation of an individual, could be liable for such conduct in a civil action for injunctive relief, damages or other appropriate remedies (A.1531-B, Richardson).

Finally on Monday, the Assembly passed the Right to Monitor Act, which confirms the public's right to record public law enforcement activity (A.1360-A, Perry).

"Today, everyone has a camera in their pockets. And in cases of police abuse of power, recordings have proven time and again to be an invaluable protection. It is a right we have and this bill will allow us to exercise this right without fear of police interference, intimidation or confiscation of our recording devices," Assemblymember N. Nick Perry said. "This will both protect New Yorkers rights and hold law enforcement accountable for their actions. It is past time that the right to record was codified in state law."

The Right to Monitor Act ensures that members of the public are legally permitted to record and photograph police activity, giving individuals a legal course of action if an officer interferes with lawful recording. The bill would also protect an individual's right to maintain custody and control of the recording. This change would codify rulings of many federal circuit courts, and the courts of this state, that members of the public have the right to record activity in their neighborhoods.

The Assembly continued to pass legislation impacting law enforcement officers Tuesday, passing a bill that would prohibit police officers and agencies from profiling based on race or ethnicity, establish a statewide public database containing data on motor vehicle and pedestrian stops by police and allow any victim of racial or ethnic profiling, or the attorney general, to bring an action for damages or injunctive relief to stop improper actions (A.4615-A). The Assembly also passed legislation to affirm that police and correctional agencies must provide attention to the medical and mental health needs of individuals in their custody (A.8226-B, Fernandez).

More legislation passed Tuesday repeals section 50-a of the New York State Civil Rights Law to provide much-needed transparency on police misconduct and discipline (A.10611, O'Donnell). Section 50-a of the New York State Civil Rights Law permits law enforcement officers to refuse disclosure of personnel records used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion. The exemption was adopted in 1976 in order to prevent criminal defense lawyers from using such records in cross examination of police witnesses during criminal prosecutions. This narrow exemption has since been expanded in the courts to allow police departments to withhold from the public virtually any record that contains any information that could conceivably be used to evaluate the performance of a police officer, even when it is known misconduct has occurred. This evolution has defeated the Freedom of Information Law's (FOIL) goal of accountability and transparency.

In addition to repealing section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law, the legislation would also make amendments to FOIL to establish new definitions related to the terms "law enforcement disciplinary record," "law enforcement disciplinary proceeding," "law enforcement agency," and "technical infraction."

When responding to a FOIL request a law enforcement agency would be required to redact from law enforcement disciplinary records:

• medical history information of police officers, peace officers, firefighters and firefighter/paramedics, unless the records were obtained during the course of an agency's investigation of the person's misconduct and is relevant to the disposition of the investigation;
• home addresses, personal phone numbers and email addresses of police officers, peace officers, firefighters and firefighter/paramedics or a family member or the complainant or another person in the disciplinary record;
• social security numbers; and
• the use of Employee Assistance Program, mental health services or substance abuse by police officers, peace officers, firefighters and firefighter/paramedics unless its use is mandated by a disciplinary proceeding that may otherwise be disclosed.

A law enforcement agency may also redact technical infractions from law enforcement disciplinary records. Technical infractions are minor rule violations by a person employed by a law enforcement agency as a police officer, peace officer, or firefighter or firefighter/paramedic, solely related to the enforcement of administrative departmental rules that do not involve interactions with members of the public, are not of public concern, and are not otherwise connected to such person's investigative, enforcement, training, supervision or reporting responsibilities.

Heastie also announced Tuesday that the Assembly has passed legislation to establish the New York State Body-Worn Cameras Program to increase accountability and evidence for law enforcement and the residents of the state by providing body-worn cameras to all state police officers while on patrol.

Under the bill, the Division of State Police would provide body-worn cameras to all New York State Police officers to be worn at all times while on patrol (A.8674-A, Walker). The cameras would record:

• immediately before an officer exits a patrol vehicle to interact with a person or situation, even if there is a dash camera inside such vehicle which might also be recording the interaction;
• all uses of force, including any physical aggression and use of a non-lethal or lethal weapon;
• all arrests and summonses;
• all interactions with people suspected of criminal activity;
• all searches of persons and property;
• any call to a crime in progress;
• investigative actions where there are interactions with members of the public;
• any interaction with an emotionally disturbed person; and
• any instances where officers feel any imminent danger or the need to document their time on duty.

The legislation would also allow the attorney general to investigate any instance where body cameras fail to record an event. At the discretion of the officer, body cameras may not record:

sensitive encounters, including but not limited to speaking with a confidential informant, or conducting a strip search; or
when a member of the public asks such officer to turn off the camera, provided, however, such officer may continue recording if he or she thinks a record of that interaction should be generated.

The Division of State Police is required to preserve the recordings of the body-worn cameras and perform all upkeep on the equipment.

Wednesday the Assembly passed legislation to create the Office of Special Investigation that would investigate and, when warranted, prosecute when a person dies in law enforcement custody or after an encounter with a police officer or certain peace officers (A.1601-C, Perry).

The legislation would establish an Office of Special Investigation within the Offices of the New York State Attorney General that would investigate and, if warranted, prosecute incidents of a person dying in law enforcement custody or after an encounter with a police officer or certain peace officer. District attorneys and officers in local police departments work closely together in important and sensitive matters. When an individual dies after an encounter with police or in law enforcement custody, it would promote public confidence to have the circumstances of the death investigated and reviewed by an independent prosecuting agency.

Next, the Assembly passed legislation that would establish the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office within the Department of Law to investigate allegations of corruption, fraud, use of excessive force, criminal activity, conflicts of interest or abuse in local law enforcement agencies throughout the state (A.10002-B, Taylor).

The Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office would be headed by a deputy attorney general appointed by the attorney general. The head of a law enforcement agency is required to refer complaints to the office for review when an employee receives at least five complaints from different individuals on five or more separate incidents within two years. In addition to their other investigative duties, the office will investigate these complaints to determine whether the subject has engaged in a pattern or practice of misconduct, use of excessive force or acts of dishonesty. They would then determine whether disciplinary action, civil or criminal prosecution or further investigation by a federal, state or local agency is warranted, and would assist in such investigations if requested by the agency. The state inspector general, Metropolitan Transportation Authority inspector general and the Port Authority inspector general would be granted similar powers to investigate police officers and agencies under their jurisdiction.

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