Establishes a board for review of officer-involved deaths; establishes such to be a five member board; requires police agencies to create written procedures for reviewing deaths involving police officers; requires investigative team of at least 3 people to review each death and a final report to be provided to the board.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7330
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 24, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a board
for review of officer-involved deaths and procedures for reviewing
deaths involving police officers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding two new sections
2 845-c and 845-d to read as follows:
3 § 845-c. Board for review of officer-involved deaths. 1. There is
4 hereby created a board for review of officer-involved deaths. The board
5 shall be composed of five members as follows:
6 (a) One retired or reserve judge.
7 (b) A former sheriff, chief of police, chief deputy sheriff, or deputy
8 chief of police.
9 (c) An assistant attorney general.
10 (d) A professor or researcher affiliated with the state university of
11 New York who has expertise in the field of criminal law or criminal
12 justice.
13 (e) A former district attorney or assistant district attorney who
14 served in that capacity for at least ten years.
15 2. The members of the board shall be appointed by the commissioner for
16 staggered four-year terms.
17 3. The board for review of officer-involved deaths shall meet as
18 necessary to perform its duties under section eight hundred forty-five-d
19 of this article.
20 § 845-d. Review of deaths involving police officers. 1. Each police
21 agency shall have a written policy regarding the handling of deaths
22 involving a police officer employed by the division. Each policy is
23 subject to the review and approval of the board for review of officer-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11014-01-7
A. 7330 2
1 involved deaths established pursuant to section eight hundred forty-
2 five-c of this article.
3 2. (a) Each policy shall require a team of investigators consisting of
4 at least three individuals, including individuals from at least two
5 different agencies that do not employ the police officer involved in the
6 death being investigated.
7 (b) If the death being investigated is traffic related, the policy
8 shall require the investigative team to use a crash reconstruction unit
9 from an agency that does not employ the law enforcement officer involved
10 in the death being investigated.
11 (c) Each policy may allow an internal investigation into the death if
12 the internal investigation does not interfere with the duties of the
13 team of investigators required pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdi-
14 vision.
15 (d) Each policy shall require any police officer involved in the death
16 to submit a blood sample. No person may perform any analysis or test on
17 the blood sample without either the permission of the police officer who
18 submitted the sample or a search warrant. At the conclusion of the
19 investigation of the death, the sample may be destroyed if a court
20 approves.
21 3. (a) A team of investigators created under paragraph (a) of subdivi-
22 sion two of this section shall consult and report to the district attor-
23 ney of the county in which the death occurred. Except as provided in
24 this subdivision, the team of investigators shall keep confidential any
25 material and information related to the death and the investigation.
26 (b) When the team of investigators completes their investigation, they
27 shall provide a final report to the district attorney. The district
28 attorney shall release the report to the board for the review of offi-
29 cer-involved deaths.
30 (c) A team of investigators created under paragraph (a) of subdivision
31 two of this section shall respond to requests under subdivision four of
32 this section from the board for review of officer-involved deaths unless
33 the district attorney restricts the team from a response due to a court
34 order or because a response could jeopardize the prosecution or investi-
35 gation of an open case.
36 4. (a) When the board for review of officer-involved deaths receives a
37 report under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, it shall review the
38 report and evidence to determine if it addresses all aspects of the
39 death. The board for review of officer-involved deaths may request more
40 information, clarification, or testimony from the investigative team
41 that prepared the report.
42 (b) When the board for review of officer-involved deaths finishes its
43 review of the report, it may make recommendations to the district attor-
44 ney of the county in which the death occurred and forward the report to
45 any person responsible for disciplining an officer involved.
46 (c) Meetings of the board for review of officer-involved deaths are
47 open to the public but public comment is closed unless the majority of
48 the board votes to allow public comment.
49 5. When the board for review of officer-involved deaths completes its
50 review of a report under subdivision four of this section, the attorney
51 general shall release the report and any accompanying written files
52 unless the information must be kept confidential by statute.
53 6. For purposes of this section "police officer" means a person desig-
54 nated as such in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal
55 procedure law.
A. 7330 3
1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
2 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
3 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
4 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
5 completed on or before such effective date.
