NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3334
SPONSOR: Smith TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to assault on a member of an
auxiliary police program
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to add on-duty auxiliary police offi-
cers to the list of public servants for whom it is an assault in the
second degree if an individual causes physical injury while intending to
prevent such public servant from performing a lawful duty.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill amends subdivision 3 of section 120.05 of the
Penal Law by adding on-duty members of an auxiliary police program main-
tained by a state or local police department or sheriffs department to
the list of those public servants for whom it is an assault in the
second degree if an individual causes them physical injury while intend-
ing to prevent such public servant from performing a lawful duty.
Section one of this bill further amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 10
of section 120.05 of the Penal Law by adding school safety agents who
are employed by a city with a population of one million or more to the
list of those whom it is assault in the second degree to intentionally
cause them physical injury while acting at a place the person knows, or
should know, is school grounds,
Section two of this bill contains the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Auxiliary police officers are often called upon across the state to
supplement and assist police departments on an as needed basis. Much of
the work these auxiliary police officers carry out is traditional police
duties that help to preserve peace and order within the community they
serve. It is not uncommon for these auxiliary police officers to volun-
teer their duties• and put themselves in harms way for little to no pay.
The intent of this bill is to help protect these courageous individuals
by making it an assault in the second degree when an individual phys-
ically injures an on-duty auxiliary police officer when intending to
prevent such auxiliary police officer from carrying out their lawful
duties. Currently, an individual is guilty of assault in the second
degree when he or she physically injures a police officer while intend-
ing to prevent such police officer from carrying out a lawful duty.
With this in mind, there is no reason why the same punishment should not
be applied to those who assault on-duty auxiliary police officers who
are carrying out similar, if not identical, duties of police officers.
Additionally, while this legislation will offer further protection to
these auxiliary police officers, it will also serve to benefit the
community as it will allow auxiliary police officers to carry out their
duties with minimal interference.
Additionally, this legislation extends protection to school safety
agents employed by a city with a population of one million or more.
These school safety agents located in New York. City are responsible for
providing security for New York City Public school buildings as well as
the school's students and faculty: As is the case with auxiliary police
Officers, these school safety agents are vital to the protection of the
community they serve and this legislation will afford them the degree of
protection they deserve and are entitled to. Simultaneously, this legis-
lation will not only serve to benefit the school safety agents but also
the premises in which they are assigned.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A5544 Referred to codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3334
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SMITH, DeSTEFANO, SMULLEN, MIKULIN, MORINELLO,
CRUZ, MILLER, TANNOUSIS, BRABENEC, GANDOLFO -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to assault on a member of an
auxiliary police program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 3 and 10 of section 120.05 of the penal law,
2 subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 267 of the laws of 2016, subdivision
3 10 as amended by chapter 268 of the laws of 2016, are amended to read as
4 follows:
5 3. With intent to prevent a peace officer, a police officer, a member
6 of an auxiliary police program organized and maintained by a state or
7 local police department or sheriff's department while performing their
8 duties as such auxiliary police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdi-
9 vision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, regis-
10 tered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New
11 York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New
12 York city sanitation worker, a firefighter, including a firefighter
13 acting as a paramedic or emergency medical technician administering
14 first aid in the course of performance of duty as such firefighter, an
15 emergency medical service paramedic or emergency medical service techni-
16 cian, or medical or related personnel in a hospital emergency depart-
17 ment, a city marshal, a school crossing guard appointed pursuant to
18 section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, a traffic
19 enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of any entity
20 governed by the public service law in the course of performing an essen-
21 tial service, from performing a lawful duty, by means including releas-
22 ing or failing to control an animal under circumstances evincing the
23 actor's intent that the animal obstruct the lawful activity of such
24 peace officer, police officer, on-duty auxiliary police officer, prose-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01515-01-5
A. 3334 2
1 cutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the crimi-
2 nal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public
3 health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation
4 enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, firefighter,
5 paramedic, technician, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed
6 pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law,
7 traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of an
8 entity governed by the public service law, [he or she] the actor causes
9 physical injury to such peace officer, police officer, on-duty auxiliary
10 police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of
11 section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed
12 practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health
13 sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation work-
14 er, firefighter, paramedic, technician or medical or related personnel
15 in a hospital emergency department, city marshal, school crossing guard,
16 traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of an
17 entity governed by the public service law; or
18 10. Acting at a place the person knows, or reasonably should know, is
19 on school grounds and with intent to cause physical injury, [he or she]
20 such person:
21 (a) causes such injury to an employee of a school or public school
22 district or to a school safety agent employed by a city with a popu-
23 lation of one million or more; or
24 (b) not being a student of such school or public school district,
25 causes physical injury to another, and such other person is a student of
26 such school who is attending or present for educational purposes. For
27 purposes of this subdivision the term "school grounds" shall have the
28 meaning set forth in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this
29 chapter; or
30 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
31 have become a law.
