BILL NUMBER:S2180

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to creating an office
of special investigation within the department of law

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation creates an Office of Special Investigation within the
Office of the Attorney General to investigate and, if necessary,
prosecute local police officers in cases whereby the death of an
unarmed suspect occurs in connection with an officer's performance of
his or her regular duties.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 creates a new Section 63-e of the Executive Law to establish
a new Office of Special Investigation. The Office is charged with
investigating police officers when the death of an unarmed suspect
occurs in connection with the officer's performance of his or her
official duties. Proceedings of the Office are conducted by the Deputy
Attorney General for the Office of Special Investigation, or his or
her representative.

The Office may also be petitioned to assume the investigation and
              

prosecution of a case that involves extraordinary circumstances other
than a suspect's death. In cases that involve the State Police, rather
than local police, the Attorney General must appoint a special
prosecutor independent of his or her office.

Section 2 is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Currently under New York law, the potential for conflict is prevalent
when a local prosecutor investigates and prosecutes a serious criminal
offense alleged to have been committed by a police officer.  This
conflict arises from the day-to-day interdependency between a
prosecutor and police officers as they fulfill their law enforcement
duties.

District attorneys must, by the nature of their professional
responsibilities, maintain cooperative working relationships with
their colleagues in law enforcement. But when the legality of a police
officer's conduct comes into question in cases when an unarmed suspect
loses his or her life, or other extraordinary circumstances are
present, that cooperative working relationship is placed in jeopardy.
The result is the perceived, if not actual, conflict of interest for
the prosecutor.

The recent case in which a grand jury did not indict a white New York
City police officer who forcibly subdued an unarmed black suspect in a
manner which may have caused the suspect's death is a case in point.
The event, a recording of which was made by a bystander and posted on
social media sites, raised serious questions about the legality of the
officer's actions, which apparently involved a method of restraint


that was of questionable necessity given the circumstances, and
unacceptable with regard to the New York City Police Department's own
standards. The subsequent failure of the grand jury to indict the
officer on criminal charges has resulted in serious tension between
police and members of the communities they are sworn to serve and
protect. It has also raised the questions of whether the relationship
between district attorneys and the police departments that enforce the
law within their jurisdiction creates a conflict of interest that is
detrimental to the fair and equal enforcement of justice in cases that
involve police conduct. Such questions cause serious damage to the
confidence all New Yorkers should have in their justice system.

This legislation will help restore public confidence in our legal
system by placing investigative and prosecutorial authority within the
Attorney General's office in cases where the death of an unarmed
suspect occurs in connection with a local police officer or officers'
performance of his or her official duties Since the State Attorney
General's relationship with local law enforcement is more autonomous,
this new office is a necessary tool to ensure effective and
independent prosecution of such cases.

To avoid a similar appearance of conflict of interest in cases
involving the State Police, with whom the Office of the Attorney
General has a closer relationship, the Attorney General must distance
his or her office further by appointing a special, independent
prosecutor to assume the duties and responsibilities of the Office of
Special Investigation.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Limited additional costs readily absorbed by the Department of Law.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.