Bill Text: NY S08495 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Prohibits law enforcement officers from using racial and ethnic profiling; requires that a procedure be established for the taking and review of complaints against law enforcement officers for racial and ethnic profiling; allows an action for injunctive relief and/or damages to be brought against a law enforcement agency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-06-09 - referred to codes [S08495 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08495-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8495

                    IN SENATE

                                      June 6, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. BENJAMIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance

        AN ACT to amend the executive law,  in  relation  to  ethnic  or  racial
          profiling

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section  837-v
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  837-v.  Ethnic  and  racial  profiling. 1. For the purposes of this
     4  section:
     5    (a) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency established by the  state
     6  or  a  unit of local government engaged in the prevention, detection, or
     7  investigation of violations of criminal law.
     8    (b) "Law enforcement officer" means a police officer or peace officer,
     9  as defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section  1.20
    10  of the criminal procedure law, employed by a law enforcement agency.
    11    (c)  "Racial or ethnic profiling" means the practice of a law enforce-
    12  ment agent or agency, relying, to any degree,  on  actual  or  perceived
    13  race,  color,  ethnicity, national origin or religion in selecting which
    14  individual or location to subject to routine or spontaneous investigato-
    15  ry activities or in  deciding  upon  the  scope  and  substance  of  law
    16  enforcement  activity  following  the  initial  investigatory procedure,
    17  except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to  the  locality
    18  and  timeframe,  that links a specific person or location with a partic-
    19  ular characteristic described in this paragraph to an identified  crimi-
    20  nal incident or scheme.
    21    (d)  "Routine  or  spontaneous  investigatory  activities"  means  the
    22  following activities by a law enforcement agent:
    23    (i) Interviews;
    24    (ii) Traffic stops;
    25    (iii) Pedestrian stops;
    26    (iv) Frisks and other types of body searches;
    27    (v) Consensual or  nonconsensual  searches  of  persons,  property  or
    28  possessions (including vehicles) of individuals;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16657-01-0

        S. 8495                             2

     1    (vi) Data collection and analysis, assessments and investigations; and
     2    (vii) Inspections and interviews.
     3    2.  Every  law  enforcement  agency  and every law enforcement officer
     4  shall be prohibited from engaging in racial or ethnic profiling.
     5    3. Every law enforcement agency shall promulgate and adopt  a  written
     6  policy  which  prohibits  racial  or ethnic profiling. In addition, each
     7  such agency shall promulgate and adopt procedures for the review and the
     8  taking of corrective action with respect to  complaints  by  individuals
     9  who  allege  that they have been the subject of racial or ethnic profil-
    10  ing. A copy of each such complaint received pursuant to this section and
    11  written notification of the review and  disposition  of  such  complaint
    12  shall be promptly provided by such agency to the division.
    13    4.  The  attorney  general may bring an action on behalf of the people
    14  for injunctive relief and/or damages against a  law  enforcement  agency
    15  that is engaging in or has engaged in an act or acts of racial profiling
    16  in a court having jurisdiction to issue such relief. The court may award
    17  costs  and reasonable attorney fees to the attorney general who prevails
    18  in such an action.
    19    5. Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing or  abro-
    20  gating  any right, remedy or cause of action which an individual who has
    21  been subject to racial or ethnic profiling  may  have  pursuant  to  any
    22  other provision of law.
    23    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately;  provided that the
    24  provisions of subdivision 3 of section 837-v of  the  executive  law  as
    25  added  by section one of this act shall take effect on the ninetieth day
    26  after it shall have become a law.
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