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

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-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3056--A
                               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, REYES, SIMON, GRIFFIN, ABINANTI,
          BLAKE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DE LA ROSA --  read  once  and
          referred  to  the  Committee  on  Codes  -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee
        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
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03980-03-9
        A. 3056--A                          2
     1  medical care, the board shall  refer  such  case  to  prosecutors  as  a
     2  violation of section 125.09 of the penal law.
     3    §  3.  The  penal law is amended by adding two new sections 125.08 and
     4  125.09 to read as follows:
     5  § 125.08 Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical  care  resulting
     6             in injury.
     7    A  person  is guilty of criminally negligent failure to obtain medical
     8  care resulting in injury when such person, acting as a  police  officer,
     9  peace officer or correction officer: (a) with criminal negligence, fails
    10  to  make  a  good  faith effort to obtain medical care for any person in
    11  custody, including an inmate, displaying medical distress, including but
    12  not limited to breathing difficulties, migraines and muscle pains, or  a
    13  need for immediate medical care in the presence of such officer; and (b)
    14  such  person in custody suffers from an injury resulting from such fail-
    15  ure to obtain medical care.
    16    Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical care resulting in inju-
    17  ry is a class A misdemeanor.
    18  § 125.09 Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical  care  resulting
    19             in death.
    20    A  person  is guilty of criminally negligent failure to obtain medical
    21  care resulting in death when such person, acting as  a  police  officer,
    22  peace officer or correction officer: (a) with criminal negligence, fails
    23  to  make  a  good  faith effort to obtain medical care for any person in
    24  custody, including an inmate, displaying medical distress, including but
    25  not limited to breathing difficulties, migraines and muscle pains, or  a
    26  need for immediate medical care in the presence of such officer; and (b)
    27  such  person  in  custody  dies  as  a  result of such failure to obtain
    28  medical care.
    29    Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical care resulting in death
    30  is a class A misdemeanor.
    31    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.