Bill Text: NY A10081 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Relates to providing for the establishment, organization and operation of police departments in the towns of Westchester county.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-10-19 - print number 10081a [A10081 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A10081-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          10081
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     March 14, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Employees
        AN  ACT  to  amend chapter 104 of the laws of 1936 relating to providing
          for the establishment, organization and operation  of  police  depart-
          ments  in  the towns of Westchester county and chapter 891 of the laws
          of 1972 relating to continuing special provisions relating  to  police
          departments of certain villages, in relation to suspension of an offi-
          cer pending a trial of disciplinary charges
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 7 of chapter 104 of the laws of  1936  relating  to
     2  providing  for  the  establishment, organization and operation of police
     3  departments in the towns of Westchester county, as  amended  by  chapter
     4  812 of the laws of 1941, is amended to read as follows:
     5    §  7.  Discipline  and charges. Except as otherwise provided by law, a
     6  member of  such  police  department  shall  continue  in  office  unless
     7  suspended  or dismissed. The town board or board of police commissioners
     8  shall have power and is authorized to adopt and  make  rules  and  regu-
     9  lations for the examination, hearing, investigation and determination of
    10  charges,  made or preferred against any member or members of such police
    11  department, but no member or members of such police department shall  be
    12  fined,  reprimanded,  removed  or  dismissed until written charges shall
    13  have been investigated, examined, heard  and  determined  by  such  town
    14  board  or board of police commissioners in such manner, procedure, prac-
    15  tice, examination and investigation as such board may, by such rules and
    16  regulations from time to time prescribe, except that the trial  of  such
    17  charges  shall  not  be delegated and must be heard before the full town
    18  board or full board of police commissioners or a majority of the members
    19  of either of such boards, and the affirmative vote of a majority of such
    20  members shall be necessary for a conviction on any  such  charges.  Such
    21  charges  shall  not be brought more than ninety days after the time when
    22  the facts upon which such charges are based are known to such town board
    23  or board of police commissioners.  Any member of such police  department
    24  at  the  time  of  the hearing or trial of such charges before such town
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09947-01-7
        A. 10081                            2
     1  board or board of police commissioners shall have the right to a  public
     2  hearing  and  trial and to be represented by counsel at any such hearing
     3  or trial and any person who shall have preferred  such  charges  or  any
     4  part  of  the same shall not sit as a member of such town board or board
     5  of police commissioners upon such hearing  or  trial  and  any  and  all
     6  witnesses produced upon the trial shall testify under oath.
     7    Any  member  of  such  department found guilty upon charges after five
     8  days' written notice and an opportunity to be heard in his  defense,  of
     9  neglect or dereliction in the performance of official duty, or violation
    10  of  rules  or  regulations  or  disobedience, or incompetency to perform
    11  official duty, or an act of delinquency seriously affecting his  general
    12  character  or  fitness for office, may be punished by such town board or
    13  board of police commissioners before which such charges  are  tried,  by
    14  reprimand,  forfeiture and the withholding of salary or compensation for
    15  a specified time not exceeding twenty days, by suspension from duty  for
    16  a specified time not exceeding twenty days and the withholding of salary
    17  or compensation during such suspension, or by dismissal from the depart-
    18  ment.  Such  town  board or board of police commissioners shall have the
    19  power to suspend, without pay, pending the trial of charges, any  member
    20  of  such  police  department for a period not exceeding thirty days.  If
    21  any member of such police department so suspended shall not be convicted
    22  by such board  of  the  charges  so  preferred,  or  if  on  review  his
    23  conviction  shall  be  reversed,  then, notwithstanding such charges and
    24  suspension, he shall be entitled to full pay from the date of suspension
    25  to the date of reinstatement less the amount of  compensation,  if  any,
    26  received by him from any other employment or occupation during the peri-
    27  od  beginning  with  such  date  of  suspension to the date of his rein-
    28  statement and he shall be entitled to [an] a court order [as provided in
    29  article seventy-eight  of  the  civil  practice  act]  to  enforce  such
    30  payment.
    31    §  2.   Subdivision 9 of section 18 of chapter 891 of the laws of 1972
    32  relating to continuing special provisions relating to police departments
    33  of certain villages is amended to read as follows:
    34    9. Discipline and charges. Except as  otherwise  provided  by  law,  a
    35  member of such police force shall continue in office unless suspended or
    36  dismissed. The board of trustees or municipal board shall have power and
    37  is  authorized  to adopt and make rules and regulations for the examina-
    38  tion, hearing, investigation  and  determination  of  charges,  made  or
    39  preferred  against  any  member  or members of such police force, but no
    40  member or members of such police  force  shall  be  fined,  reprimanded,
    41  removed  or  dismissed  until  written  charges shall have been made and
    42  preferred against him or them, nor until such charges have been investi-
    43  gated, examined, heard and determined  by  such  board  of  trustees  or
    44  municipal  board  in  such  manner, procedure, practice, examination and
    45  investigation as such board may by such rules and regulations from  time
    46  to  time  prescribe,  except that the trial of such charges shall not be
    47  delegated and must be heard before the full board of  trustees  or  full
    48  municipal  board, or a majority of the members of either of such boards,
    49  and the affirmative vote of a majority of such members shall  be  neces-
    50  sary  to  a  conviction  on  any such charges. Such charges shall not be
    51  brought more than ninety days after the time when the facts  upon  which
    52  such  charges are based are known to such board of trustees or municipal
    53  board. Any member of such police force at the time  of  the  hearing  or
    54  trial  of  such charges before such board of trustees or municipal board
    55  shall have the right to a public hearing and trial and to be represented
    56  by counsel at any such hearing or trial, and any person who  shall  have
        A. 10081                            3
     1  preferred such charges or any part of the same shall not sit as a member
     2  of such board of trustees or municipal board upon such hearing or trial.
     3  Any  and all witnesses produced upon the trial shall testify under oath.
     4  Any  member  of  such  force found guilty upon charges, after five days'
     5  written notice and an opportunity to be heard in his defense, of neglect
     6  or dereliction in the performance of  official  duty,  or  violation  of
     7  rules and regulations, or disobedience, or incompetency to perform offi-
     8  cial  duty,  or  an  act  of delinquency seriously affecting his general
     9  character or fitness for office, may be punished by such board of  trus-
    10  tees  or  municipal board before which such charges are tried, by repri-
    11  mand, forfeiture and the withholding of salary  or  compensation  for  a
    12  specified  time  not exceeding twenty days and the withholding of salary
    13  or compensation during such suspension, or by dismissal from the depart-
    14  ment. Such board of trustees or municipal board shall have the power  to
    15  suspend  without  pay,  pending the trial of charges, any member of such
    16  police force for a period not to exceed thirty days.  If any  member  of
    17  such  police  force so suspended shall not be convicted by such board of
    18  the charges so preferred, or  if  on  review  his  conviction  shall  be
    19  reversed, then, notwithstanding such charges and suspension, he shall be
    20  entitled  to receive full pay from the date of suspension to the date of
    21  reimbursement less the amount of compensation, if any, received  by  him
    22  from any other employment or occupation during the period beginning with
    23  such date of suspension to the date of his reinstatement and he shall be
    24  entitled  to [an] a court order [as provided in article seventy-eight of
    25  the civil practice act] to enforce the payment thereof.
    26    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.