Relates to reports by the office of special investigation

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Anthony H. Palumbo says this is needed

The Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has been established within the Office of the Attorney General and must investigate and if warranted, prosecute any alleged criminal offense(s) committed by a police officer or a peace officer, concerning any incident which the death of a person is caused by an act or mission of such police offi- cers. Under current law, the Attorney General must provide written notice of his/her determination to present evidence to a grand jury or to decline to present evidence to a grand jury as soon as practicable' which is extremely general and opens the possibility for these types of investigations to go on for years. OSI must also issue a detailed public report when it declines to present evidence to the grand jury or when it does present evidence to the grand jury and the grand jury does not return an indictment. Under either scenario, the officer remains under suspicion and subject to scrutiny for the months or even years that OSI takes to complete and publish its report (since the law provides no timeframe) to conclude that criminal charges were never warranted against the officer. It is always unfortunate when a death occurs, however, there are instances when a police officer must act in self-defense. These officers have a tough enough job without having to deal with an open investi- gation looming over them for months, if not years. It is impossible for any individual to continue to do his/her job without knowing when a decision will come. Our law enforcement officers risk their lives every day with the duty to protect and serve all New Yorkers. We do not want our officers to be reluctant to protect themselves or other individuals due to a pending investigation. Although the Attorney General's office has the power and authority to investigate these types of incidents, it is problematic and too open ended for the time frame to be 'as soon as practicable'. Additionally, a time allotment is necessary for the issuance of the mandated report, while still allowing for extensions for good cause shown. This provides ample time for the Attorney General to do his/her job while also balancing the needs of our law enforcement to be able to go into work every day without the stress of a never-ending open inves- tigation. This bill provides for the ability of an extension in cases where good cause is shown, while also ensuring that an officer's life is not put on hold while his/her file gets lost on a desk.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.