BILL NUMBER:S3508

TITLE OF BILL:

An  act  to  amend  the penal law, in relation to unlawfully fleeing a
police officer in a motor vehicle

PURPOSE:

To increase the penalties incurred by those found guilty of unlawfully
fleeing from a police officer under sections 270.25, 270.30 and 270.35
of the New York State Penal Law.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends sections 270.25, 270.30 and  270.35  of
the  New  York  Penal  Law to replace "unlawful" with "unlawfully" and
makes further changes as follows:

Section 270.25 is amended to  increase  the  penalty  of  being  found
guilty of unlawful fleeing from a police officer in a motor vehicle in
the third degree from a class A misdemeanor to a class E felony.

Section  270.30  is  amended  to  increase  the penalty of being found
guilty of unlawful fleeing from a police officer in a motor vehicle in
the second degree, in which an officer or a third person is  seriously
              

injured, from a class E felony to a class D felony.

Section  270.35  is  amended  to  increase  the penalty of being found
guilty of unlawful fleeing from a police officer in the first  degree,
in which an officer or a third person is killed, from a class D felony
to a class C felony.

Section  two establishes the effective date of this law as Immediately
after the bill become law.

JUSTIFICATION:

Experience has shown that both high speed and  low  speed  chases  can
result  in  dangerous  conditions  which  many  times lead to innocent
people or law enforcement officers suffering personal injury or death.
Because the current punishment for failing to obey a police officer is
lenient, individuals, calculating that the penalties if caught are not
great, may attempt to flee the police, rather than pull over, creating
the potential for disaster.   Therefore,  this  bill  is  designed  to
protect  police  officers, motorists and pedestrians by deterring such
activity and appropriately punishing those who would engage in high or
low speed chases.

In Brooklyn, New York, Natalie Ferber, 18, was critically injured by a
van that was fleeing a traffic stop. On November  18,  2014,  the  van
sped through the traffic stop, striking two detectives in the process,
and  continued  to  flee  the  pursuing officers for seven miles until
hitting the car containing Natalie and her mother, Nancy Lawrence,  an
off-duty  NYPD Sergeant. Both were brought to the hospital where Nancy
was in serious  condition  and  Natalie  in  critical  condition  with
serious brain damage that left her in a coma.


On September 22, 2014 Officer Nicholas Guerrero and his partner pulled
over  a  stolen  SUV  in Huntington, New York. While the officers were
talking to the two suspects in the car, the driver began to  flee  and
hit  both officers in the process. Officer Guerrero sustained a severe
head  injury and was in a coma for his first week in the hospital, and
he remained in the hospital  until  October  without  recovering  full
mental   and  physical  health.  In  addition  to  Officer  Guerrero's
significant injuries, the two suspects fled and struck a car at a  gas
station and later car-jacked an 87-year-old woman before finally being
arrested.

These   types  of  scenarios  demonstrate  that  police  officers  and
civilians alike are potential victims of  fleeing  suspects.  In  many
instances,  the  suspects  flee  at  high  speeds  for long distances,
increasing the potential for harm to pedestrians and other drivers The
suspect has less regard for the  safety  of  himself  or  herself  and
others, but additionally lacks control of the car at such high speeds.
The  fact  that  Natalie and Officer Guerrero were injured severely by
fleeing suspects in vehicles is unfortunate,  but  in  both  of  their
stories the suspects could have harmed or killed more people.

If  the  penalties  for unlawfully fleeing by vehicle are raised, then
those who are interacting  with  police  officers  at  traffic  stops,
pull-over's and other routine law enforcement situations will consider
the  consequences of trying to flee and decide whether the penalty for
unlawfully fleeing is worth avoiding a ticket or a fine.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

This bill has no fiscal implications on the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Section two establishes the effective date of this law as  Immediately
after the bill becomes law.