Establishes the Terry Cooper autopsy accountability act requiring autopsy reports to include all photographs of the body, microscopic slides, and post-mortem x-rays taken by, at the direction of, or reviewed by the person performing the autopsy.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5424A
SPONSOR: Gallagher TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the county law, in relation to requiring autopsy reports
to include photographs, microscopic slides, and post-mortem x-rays taken
by, at the direction of, or reviewed by the person performing the autop-
sy
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to expand the requirements for what is
included in an autopsy report.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 establishes this act to be known as the "Terry Cooper Autopsy
Accountability Act."
Section 2 amends County Law section 674(5) to clarify that an autopsy
report for an incarcerated individual shall include photographs, micro-
scopic slides, and post-mortem x-rays taken by, at the direction of, or
reviewed by the person performing the autopsy.
Section 3 amends County Law section 677(6) to clarify that an autopsy
report for an incarcerated individual shall include photographs, micro-
scopic slides, and post-mortem x-rays taken by, at the direction of, or
reviewed by the person performing the autopsy.
Section 4 establishes that this act shall take effect on the ninetieth
day after it shall become law and shall apply to all autopsies conducted
on or after such date.
JUSTIFICATION:
On May 19, 2016, Terry Cooper, who had just turned 25 years old, was
brutally assaulted by NYS DOCCS Correction Officers at Clinton Correc-
tional Facility and died that day because of the assault. Mr. Cooper
weighed approximately 115 pounds and was approximately 5'5" tall, was
the father of a young child, and was known to suffer from severe asthma.
The assault included the use of batons to beat Mr. Cooper. Mr. Cooper
died as result of this beating. During the beating, Mr. Cooper said that
he could not breathe and that he needed his asthma pump and was taken to
the infirmary where he was unable to be revived.
His official cause of death was determined to be "cardio-respiratory
arrest consistent with acute exacerbation of chronic asthma." The autop-
sy report provided to the State Commission of Corrections Correction
Medical Review Board did not include photographs that had been taken of
Mr. Cooper after he passed away, which clearly demonstrated he had been
beaten by batons. This omission, which was in accord with existing law,
made it impossible for the SCOC Correction Medical Review Board to prop-
erly fulfill its oversight mission and responsibility to evaluate the
cause of death of anyone who dies in custody in NYS and to make recom-
mendations to prevent the recurrence of such deaths.
This bill ensures that the proper documentation, including photographs,
is included in autopsy reports provided to DOCCS and the SCOC Correction
Medical Review Board to both monitor and reflect on how deaths can be
prevented, to hold Correction. Officers accountable when the autopsy
reports indicate excessive force, and to prevent further similar trage-
dies.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None noted.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law and shall apply to all autopsies conducted on or after such
date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5424--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GALLAGHER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Local Governments -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the county law, in relation to requiring autopsy reports
to include photographs, microscopic slides, and post-mortem x-rays
taken by, at the direction of, or reviewed by the person performing
the autopsy
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Terry
2 Cooper autopsy accountability act".
3 § 2. Subdivision 5 of section 674 of the county law, as amended by
4 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
5 5. Notwithstanding section six hundred seventy of this article or any
6 other provision of law, the coroner, coroner's physician or medical
7 examiner shall promptly perform or cause to be performed an autopsy and
8 to prepare an autopsy report which shall include a toxicological report
9 and any report of any examination or inquiry with respect to any death
10 occurring within [his or her] such coroner's, coroner's physician's or
11 medical examiner's county to an incarcerated individual of a correction-
12 al facility as defined by subdivision three of section forty of the
13 correction law, whether or not the death occurred inside such facility.
14 For the purposes of this subdivision, in addition to anything else
15 required by law, an autopsy report shall include all photographs of the
16 body, microscopic slides, and post-mortem x-rays taken by or at the
17 direction of the person performing the autopsy, and all photographs,
18 microscopic slides, and post-mortem x-rays reviewed by the person
19 performing the autopsy in the course of their examination or in the
20 course of their diagnosis of the cause of death and the means or manner
21 of death.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05959-04-5
A. 5424--A 2
1 § 3. Subdivision 6 of section 677 of the county law, as amended by
2 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 6. Notwithstanding section six hundred seventy of this article or any
4 other provision of law, the coroner, coroner's physician or medical
5 examiner shall promptly provide the [chairman] chairperson of the
6 correction medical review board and the commissioner of corrections and
7 community supervision with copies of any autopsy report, toxicological
8 report or any report of any examination or inquiry prepared with respect
9 to any death occurring to an incarcerated individual of a correctional
10 facility as defined by subdivision three of section forty of the
11 correction law within [his or her] their county; and shall promptly
12 provide the executive director of the justice center for the protection
13 of people with special needs with copies of any autopsy report, toxicol-
14 ogy report or any report of any examination or inquiry prepared with
15 respect to the death of any service recipient occurring while [he or
16 she] such person was a resident in any facility operated, licensed or
17 certified by any agency within the department of mental hygiene, the
18 office of children and family services, the department of health or the
19 state education department. If the toxicological report is prepared
20 pursuant to any agreement or contract with any person, partnership,
21 corporation or governmental agency with the coroner or medical examiner,
22 such report shall be promptly provided to the [chairman] chairperson of
23 the correction medical review board, the commissioner of corrections and
24 community supervision or the executive director of the justice center
25 for people with special needs, as appropriate, by such person, partner-
26 ship, corporation or governmental agency. For the purposes of this
27 subdivision, in addition to anything else required by law, an autopsy
28 report shall include all photographs of the body, microscopic slides,
29 and post-mortem x-rays taken by or at the direction of the person
30 performing the autopsy, and all photographs, microscopic slides, and
31 post-mortem x-rays reviewed by the person performing the autopsy in the
32 course of their examination or in the course of their diagnosis of the
33 cause of death and the means or manner of death.
34 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
35 have become a law and shall apply to all autopsies conducted on or after
36 such date.
