Bill Text: NY A11378 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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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: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-12-05 - print number 11378a [A11378 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A11378-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                        11378--A
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    October 19, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Fernandez,
          Mosley, Barron, McDonough) -- read once and referred to the  Committee
          on  Codes  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
        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  to  an  inmate  or person in custody
    18  displaying medical distress or a need for immediate  medical  care,  the
    19  board  shall  refer  such  case to prosecutors as a violation of section
    20  195.01 of the penal law.
    21    § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 195.01  to  read
    22  as follows:
    23  § 195.01 Criminally negligent failure to obtain medical care.
    24    A  person  is guilty of criminally negligent failure to obtain medical
    25  care when such person, acting as a  police  officer,  peace  officer  or
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16582-03-8
        A. 11378--A                         2
     1  correction  officer:  (a) with criminal negligence, fails to make a good
     2  faith effort to obtain medical care for any person in custody, including
     3  an inmate, displaying medical distress, including  but  not  limited  to
     4  breathing  difficulties, migraines and muscle pains, or a need for imme-
     5  diate medical care in the presence of such officer; and (b) such  person
     6  in  custody  suffers from an injury or death resulting from such failure
     7  to obtain medical care.
     8    Criminally negligent failure to obtain  medical  care  is  a  class  A
     9  misdemeanor.
    10    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.