Bill Text: NY A03056 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Imposes criminal liability for the failure to obtain medical care for a person in custody displaying medical distress.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 53-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to codes [A03056 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A03056-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3056
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 28, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  FERNANDEZ,  SOLAGES,  WILLIAMS, JEAN-PIERRE,
          D'URSO,  HYNDMAN,  ARROYO,  RAMOS,  THIELE,  COOK,  CRESPO,  PICHARDO,
          RIVERA,  EPSTEIN,  MOSLEY, CROUCH, RA -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Codes
        AN ACT to amend the correction law and the penal  law,  in  relation  to
          imposing criminal liability for the failure to obtain medical care for
          a person in custody displaying medical distress
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "Andrew Kearse act".
     3    §  2.  Paragraph  (e) of subdivision 1 of section 47 of the correction
     4  law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (iii) to read as follows:
     5    (iii) The board shall  require  any  police  officer,  peace  officer,
     6  correction  officer  or  other  employee  of  a correctional facility to
     7  provide immediate medical attention when an inmate or person in  custody
     8  displays  medical  distress.    The  board shall require state and local
     9  correctional facilities and law enforcement agencies to conduct training
    10  on assisting a person displaying medical  distress.    The  board  shall
    11  investigate  all  alleged failures of any police officer, peace officer,
    12  correction officer or other  employee  of  a  correctional  facility  to
    13  provide  medical  care  to  an  inmate  or  person in custody displaying
    14  medical distress or a need for immediate  medical  care.  If  the  board
    15  discovers  any  police  officer,  peace  officer, correction officer, or
    16  other employee of a correctional  facility  failed  to  make  reasonable
    17  effort  to provide medical care or denies access to care to an inmate or
    18  person in custody displaying medical distress or a  need  for  immediate
    19  medical  care,  the  board  shall  refer  such  case to prosecutors as a
    20  violation of section 125.09 of the penal law.
    21    § 3. The penal law is amended by adding two new  sections  125.08  and
    22  125.09 to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03980-02-9
        A. 3056                             2
     1  § 125.08 Criminally  negligent  failure to obtain medical care resulting
     2             in injury.
     3    A  person  is guilty of criminally negligent failure to obtain medical
     4  care resulting in injury when such person, acting as a  police  officer,
     5  peace officer or correction officer: (a) with criminal negligence, fails
     6  to  make  a  good  faith effort to obtain medical care for any person in
     7  custody, including an inmate, displaying medical distress, including but
     8  not limited to breathing difficulties, migraines and muscle pains, or  a
     9  need for immediate medical care in the presence of such officer; and (b)
    10  such  person in custody suffers from an injury resulting from such fail-
    11  ure to obtain medical care.
    12    Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical care resulting in inju-
    13  ry is a class E violent felony.
    14  § 125.09 Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical  care  resulting
    15             in death.
    16    A  person  is guilty of criminally negligent failure to obtain medical
    17  care resulting in death when such person, acting as  a  police  officer,
    18  peace officer or correction officer: (a) with criminal negligence, fails
    19  to  make  a  good  faith effort to obtain medical care for any person in
    20  custody, including an inmate, displaying medical distress, including but
    21  not limited to breathing difficulties, migraines and muscle pains, or  a
    22  need for immediate medical care in the presence of such officer; and (b)
    23  such  person  in  custody  dies  as  a  result of such failure to obtain
    24  medical care.
    25    Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical care resulting in death
    26  is a class B violent felony.
    27    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.