Bill Text: NY A10582 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to the use of injurious physical force by public servants; directs the commissioner of criminal justice services and the commissioner of health to prescribe standards for the use of physical force and for devices and substances used in the exercise of physical force.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-04 - referred to codes [A10582 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10582-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10582

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 4, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Gottfried,
          Peoples-Stokes, D'Urso,  Vanel,  Niou,  Aubry,  Cook,  Ortiz,  Rivera,
          Simon) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the use of injurious phys-
          ical force by public servants

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

     1    Section 1. Section 10.00 of the penal law is amended by adding  a  new
     2  subdivision 11-a to read as follows:
     3    11-a. "Injurious physical force" means physical force which, under the
     4  circumstances  in  which it is used, is readily capable of causing phys-
     5  ical injury, including but  not  limited  to  the  use  of  a  hazardous
     6  substance  as  defined  in  section  240.00 of this chapter or a noxious
     7  material as defined in section 270.05 of this chapter.
     8    § 2. Section 35.05 of the penal law, the opening paragraph and  subdi-
     9  vision  1  as  amended  by chapter 73 of the laws of 1968, is amended to
    10  read as follows:
    11  § 35.05 Justification; generally.
    12    Unless otherwise limited by the ensuing  provisions  of  this  article
    13  defining  justifiable  use of physical force, conduct which would other-
    14  wise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal when:
    15    1. Such conduct is required or authorized by  law  or  by  a  judicial
    16  decree,  or  is performed by a public servant in the reasonable exercise
    17  of his or her official powers, duties or functions; provided that:
    18    (a) injurious physical force shall not be used under this  subdivision
    19  unless  the  use of injurious physical force is reasonably necessary (i)
    20  to defend the public servant or another  person  from  what  the  public
    21  servant  reasonably  believes to be the use or imminent use of injurious
    22  physical force or (ii) to accomplish the particular reasonable  exercise
    23  of official powers, duties or functions; and
    24    (b)  the use of physical force under this subdivision shall be limited
    25  to that which is  reasonably  necessary  to  accomplish  the  particular
    26  reasonable exercise of official powers, duties or function; or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16611-01-0

        A. 10582                            2

     1    2. Such conduct is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an immi-
     2  nent  public  or  private  injury which is about to occur by reason of a
     3  situation occasioned or developed through no fault  of  the  actor,  and
     4  which is of such gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intel-
     5  ligence  and  morality,  the  desirability  and urgency of avoiding such
     6  injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the  injury  sought
     7  to  be  prevented  by  the  statute defining the offense in issue.   The
     8  necessity and justifiability of such conduct may not rest upon consider-
     9  ations pertaining only to the morality and advisability of the  statute,
    10  either  in its general application or with respect to its application to
    11  a particular class of cases arising thereunder. Whenever evidence relat-
    12  ing to the defense of justification under this subdivision is offered by
    13  the defendant, the court shall rule as  a  matter  of  law  whether  the
    14  claimed  facts  and  circumstances  would,  if established, constitute a
    15  defense.
    16    § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 35.35 to read as
    17  follows:
    18  § 35.35 Justification; use of physical force; standards.
    19    The use of physical force by a public servant, and  the  justification
    20  of  such  use  under this article, shall be subject to regulations which
    21  shall be made by the commissioner of the division  of  criminal  justice
    22  services,  in  consultation  with the commissioner of health. Such regu-
    23  lations may also regulate or set requirements or limitations relating to
    24  devices or substances used in the exercise of physical force.
    25    § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    26  have become a law.
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