BILL NUMBER: S8858

SPONSOR: PALUMBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the office of special
investigation

 
PURPOSE:

To address the issue of prolonged investigations.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Subdivisions 2 and 6 of section 70-b of the executive law, as
added by chapter 95 of the laws of 2020, are amended to read  
AS SOON AS
PRACTICABLE within 60 days; Such report shall be issued within 60 days
of the initiation of the investigations; provided that such period may,
for good cause shown, be extended for thirty-day intervals.

Section 2. Sets forth the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has been established within
the Office of the Attorney General and must investigate and, if
warranted, prosecute any alleged criminal offense(s) committed by a
police officer or a peace office, concerning any incident which the
death of a person is caused by an act or mission of such police officer.
Under current law, the Attorney General must provide written notice of
his/her determination to present evidence to a grand jury or to decline
to present evidence to a grand jury "as soon as practicable" which is
extremely general and opens the possibility for these types of investi-
gations to go on for years.

OSI must also issue a detailed public report when it declines to present
evidence to the grand jury or when it does present evidence to the grand
jury and the grand jury does not return an indictment.  Under either
scenario, the officer remains under suspicion and subject to scrutiny
for the months or even years that OSI takes to complete and publish its
report (since the law provides no timeframe) to conclude that criminal
charges were never warranted against the officer.

It is always unfortunate when a death occurs, however, there are
instances when a police officer must act in self-defense. These officers
have a tough enough job without having to deal with an open investi-
gation looming over them for months, if not years. It is impossible for
any individual to continue to do his/her job without knowing when a
decision will come. Our law enforcement officers risk their lives every
day with the duty to protect and serve all New Yorkers. We do not want
our officers to be reluctant to protect themselves or other individuals
due to a pending investigation.

Although the Attorney General's Office has the power and authority to
investigate these types of incidents, it is problematic and too open
ended for the time frame to be "as soon as practicable".

Additionally, a time allotment is necessary for the issuance of the
mandated report, while still allowing for extensions for good cause
shown. This provides ample time for the Attorney General to do his/her
job while also balancing the needs of our law enforcement to be able to
go into work every day without the stress of a never-ending open inves-
tigation. This bill provides for the ability of an extension in cases
where good cause is shown, while also ensuring that an officer's life is
not put on hold while his/her file gets lost on a desk.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.