Prohibits the release of criminal history or any mental health history records by a coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner of individuals who were the subject of the use of force by a police or peace officer.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3036A
SPONSOR: Dilan TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting the
release of certain records of victims of police violence by a coroner,
coroner's physician or medical examiner
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would prohibit the release if certain records of victims of
police violence by a coroner, coroner's physician, or medical examiner.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends the executive law by adding a new section
845-e preventing the release of certain records of victims of police
violence by a coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner. Section
two is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Oftentimes, victims of police violence are subject to demonization by
police departments and the media through the release of information
pertaining to their criminal history and/or mental health history that
is completely unrelated to the scenario in which they were subjected to
obsessive or deadly use of force by police officers. This information
oftentimes leads to victim blaming and permeates ethnic and racial ster-
eotypes and negative public opinion of the victim. This legislation
would prevent the release of this information to prevent public smearing
of victims of police violence while the officer in question hides behind
anonymity.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Introduced every year since 2020 and never reported out of Assembly to
the governmental operations committee.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3036--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DILAN, ZACCARO, DAVILA -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting the
release of certain records of victims of police violence by a coroner,
coroner's physician or medical examiner
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 a new section 845-f
2 to read as follows:
3 § 845-f. Release of certain records of victims of police violence;
4 medical examiners. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contra-
5 ry, no coroner, coroner's physician or medical examiner who performs an
6 inquiry, autopsy or examination, including any report prepared thereon,
7 over an instance or occurrence in which a police officer, as defined in
8 subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law,
9 or a peace officer, as defined in section 2.10 of the criminal procedure
10 law, employs the use of force, as described in section eighty hundred
11 thirty-seven-t of this article, shall publicly release or otherwise
12 disseminate any information, including but not limited to providing such
13 information to a news or media organization, related to either the crim-
14 inal history or any mental health history of the individual who was the
15 subject of the use of force.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
17 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06399-02-5
