Prohibits law enforcement officers from using racial and ethnic profiling; requires that a procedure be established for the taking and review of complaints against law enforcement officers for racial and ethnic profiling; allows an action for injunctive relief and/or damages to be brought against a law enforcement agency.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1206
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 8, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. BENJAMIN, BAILEY, COMRIE, HARCKHAM, JACKSON, LIU,
MAY, PARKER, RAMOS, SALAZAR, SANDERS, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO -- read twice
and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to ethnic or racial
profiling
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 837-w
2 to read as follows:
3 § 837-w. Ethnic and racial profiling. 1. For the purposes of this
4 section:
5 (a) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency established by the state
6 or a unit of local government engaged in the prevention, detection, or
7 investigation of violations of criminal law.
8 (b) "Law enforcement officer" means a police officer or peace officer,
9 as defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20
10 of the criminal procedure law, employed by a law enforcement agency.
11 (c) "Racial or ethnic profiling" means the practice of a law enforce-
12 ment agent or agency, relying, to any degree, on actual or perceived
13 race, color, ethnicity, national origin or religion in selecting which
14 individual or location to subject to routine or spontaneous investigato-
15 ry activities or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law
16 enforcement activity following the initial investigatory procedure,
17 except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality
18 and timeframe, that links a specific person or location with a partic-
19 ular characteristic described in this paragraph to an identified crimi-
20 nal incident or scheme.
21 (d) "Routine or spontaneous investigatory activities" means the
22 following activities by a law enforcement agent:
23 (i) Interviews;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05030-01-1
S. 1206 2
1 (ii) Traffic stops;
2 (iii) Pedestrian stops;
3 (iv) Frisks and other types of body searches;
4 (v) Consensual or nonconsensual searches of persons, property or
5 possessions (including vehicles) of individuals;
6 (vi) Data collection and analysis, assessments and investigations; and
7 (vii) Inspections and interviews.
8 2. Every law enforcement agency and every law enforcement officer
9 shall be prohibited from engaging in racial or ethnic profiling.
10 3. Every law enforcement agency shall promulgate and adopt a written
11 policy which prohibits racial or ethnic profiling. In addition, each
12 such agency shall promulgate and adopt procedures for the review and the
13 taking of corrective action with respect to complaints by individuals
14 who allege that they have been the subject of racial or ethnic profil-
15 ing. A copy of each such complaint received pursuant to this section and
16 written notification of the review and disposition of such complaint
17 shall be promptly provided by such agency to the division.
18 4. The attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the people
19 for injunctive relief and/or damages against a law enforcement agency
20 that is engaging in or has engaged in an act or acts of racial profiling
21 in a court having jurisdiction to issue such relief. The court may award
22 costs and reasonable attorney fees to the attorney general who prevails
23 in such an action.
24 5. Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing or abro-
25 gating any right, remedy or cause of action which an individual who has
26 been subject to racial or ethnic profiling may have pursuant to any
27 other provision of law.
28 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the
29 provisions of subdivision 3 of section 837-w of the executive law as
30 added by section one of this act shall take effect on the ninetieth day
31 after it shall have become a law.
