Bill Text: NY S00952 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Authorizes the office of special investigation to inspect serious physical injuries that may have resulted in death, or did result in paralysis, comatose, brain damage, or any other life threatening grave bodily injury as determined by the attorney general.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S00952 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00952-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           952

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- 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 the office of  special
          investigation  inspecting  serious  physical  injuries  that  may have
          resulted in death

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

     1    Section  1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 70-b of the executive law,
     2  as added by chapter 95 of the laws of 2020, are amended and a new subdi-
     3  vision 1-a is added to read as follows:
     4    1. There shall be established within the office of the attorney gener-
     5  al  an  office  of  special  investigation.  Notwithstanding  any  other
     6  provision  of law, the office of special investigation shall investigate
     7  and, if warranted, prosecute any alleged criminal  offense  or  offenses
     8  committed  by a person, whether or not formally on duty, who is a police
     9  officer, as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section  1.20  of  the
    10  criminal procedure law, or a peace officer as defined in section 2.10 of
    11  the criminal procedure law, provided that such peace officer is employed
    12  or  contracted  by  an  education, public health, social service, parks,
    13  housing or corrections agency, or is  a  peace  officer  as  defined  in
    14  subdivision  twenty-five  of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law,
    15  concerning any incident in which the death, or serious  physical  injury
    16  pursuant  to  subdivision one-a of this section, of a person, whether in
    17  custody or not, is caused by an act or omission of such  police  officer
    18  or  peace officer or in which the attorney general determines there is a
    19  question as to whether the death, or serious physical injury pursuant to
    20  subdivision one-a of this section, was in fact caused by an act or omis-
    21  sion of such police officer or peace officer.
    22    1-a. The office of special  investigation  shall  establish  a  demon-
    23  stration  project  in certain counties related to incidents described in
    24  subdivision one of this section that result in serious  physical  injury

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01594-01-3
        S. 952                              2

     1  of  a person, that the attorney general determines such serious physical
     2  injury reasonably could have resulted in death, or did result in paraly-
     3  sis, comatose, brain damage, or any other life threatening grave  bodily
     4  injury as determined by the attorney general. Such demonstration project
     5  shall  be  established  for  incidents  occurring in counties not wholly
     6  contained within a city with a population as of the most  recent  census
     7  under one million and over four hundred thousand. The provisions of this
     8  section  shall  apply  to  the demonstration project established by this
     9  subdivision in the same manner as incidents of death of a  person  under
    10  the jurisdiction of the attorney general as prescribed by this section.
    11    2.  The  attorney  general  has  investigative  authority and criminal
    12  jurisdiction under this section at the time of  the  death,  or  serious
    13  physical  injury  pursuant  to subdivision one-a of this section, of the
    14  person and the attorney  general  retains  investigative  authority  and
    15  criminal  jurisdiction  over  the  incident  unless the attorney general
    16  determines that such incident does not meet  the  requirements  of  this
    17  section.  If  the attorney general determines the incident does not meet
    18  the requirements for the attorney general to have investigative authori-
    19  ty and criminal jurisdiction pursuant  to  this  section,  the  attorney
    20  general  shall,  as  soon as practicable, provide written notice of such
    21  determination to the district attorney for the county in which the inci-
    22  dent occurred.
    23    § 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2024.