NY State Senate Bill 2015-S8212

Senate Bill S8212

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Designates offenses against law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel as hate crimes

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Nov 14, 2016	referred to rules

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2015-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §485.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S1114
2019-2020: S335
2021-2022: S1917
2023-2024: S5339

2015-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Designates offenses against law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel as hate crimes.

2015-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S8212

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to
designating offenses against law enforcement officers, firefighters
and emergency medical services personnel as hate crimes

 PURPOSE :

To classify all offenses against first responders such as law
enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency services personnel
as hate crimes.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends subdivisions 1, 2, and 4 of section 485.05 of the
penal law, as added by chapter 107 of the laws of 2000.

Paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 1, states that a person has
committed a hate crime, when he or she commits a specified offense and
either intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is
committed or intended to be committed to, or in part because of a
belief or perception regarding race, color, national origin, ancestry,
gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability, sexual
orientation of a person, or because of actual or perceived employment
as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical
services personnel.

Part 2 of section 1 states that proof of race, color, national origin,
ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or
sexual orientation or employment as a law enforcement officer, a
firefighter or as emergency medical services personnel of either or
both the defendant and victim does not constitute as legally
sufficient evidence in the court of law.

Lastly, paragraphs (c),(d), and (e) provide definitions for the terms
"law enforcement officer", "firefighter", and "medical services
personnel".

Section 2 lists the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

There has been an increase in mortality rates of law enforcement
officers, firefighters, corrections officers and emergency medical
services personnel, within the past decade. In a report by the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund in 2014, statistics
showed that approximately "126 federal, state, local, tribal and
territorial officers died in the line of duty" which showed an
increase in comparison to 2012 and 2013. The increase in the death
toll has been in part, due to offenses intentionally aimed to harm
first responders.

In 2009, a Cape Vincent, NY volunteer Emergency Medical Technician
Mark Davis, was shot and killed by a patient whom he was trying to
help (emsl news). Just three years later, Webster, NY Police Lt. and
volunteer firefighter Mike Chiapperini and 911 Dispatcher Tomasz
Kaczowka, were killed by a gunman who ambushed the firefighters by
creating a fire at his home. Two other firefighters and one off-duty
police officer was also injured in this attack (USA Today, 2012).

In 2014, two law enforcement officers from the NYPD - Wenjian Liu and
Rafael Ramos were murdered in an ambush-styled killing while they were
sitting in their patrol car (USA Today, 2014). The offender claimed in
a social media post prior to the murder, "I'm Putting Wings on Pigs
Today." These intentional acts of harm sadly caused numerous

communities to lose loved ones whose dedicated and selfless service
was greatly appreciated.

This is a problem that reaches across the county. In July 2016 five
police officers were killed and nine were wounded in an attack in
Dallas, Texas. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana three officers were killed
and three were wounded as they were responding to a call just ten days
later. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Fund and the Washington Post, ambush killings of police officers have
seen a dramatic increase over previous years.

This bill designates offenses aimed at first responders specifically
because of their job as a law enforcement officers, corrections
officers, firefighters, medical service personnel, etc as a "hate
crime". This legislation intends to support and protect the men and
women who devote their lives to protecting and serving the people of
New York State.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2015-S8212 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  8212

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            November 14, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  AKSHAR, GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the penal  law,  in  relation  to  designating  offenses
  against  law  enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical
  services personnel as hate crimes

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 4 of section 485.05 of the penal law,
as  added  by  chapter  107  of the laws of 2000, are amended to read as
follows:
  1. A person commits a hate crime when he or she  commits  a  specified
offense and either:
  (a)  intentionally  selects  the  person  against  whom the offense is
committed or intended to be committed in whole or  in  substantial  part
because  of  a  belief  or  perception  regarding  (I)  the race, color,
national origin, ancestry, gender, religion,  religious  practice,  age,
disability  or  sexual orientation of a person OR (II) BECAUSE OF ACTUAL
OR PERCEIVED EMPLOYMENT AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, A  FIREFIGHTER  OR
AS  EMERGENCY  MEDICAL  SERVICES  PERSONNEL,  regardless  of whether the
belief or perception is correct, or
  (b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense  in
whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding
(I)  the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, reli-
gious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation  of  a  person  OR
(II)  BECAUSE  OF  ACTUAL  OR  PERCEIVED EMPLOYMENT AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICER, A FIREFIGHTER  OR  AS  EMERGENCY  MEDICAL  SERVICES  PERSONNEL,
regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.
  (C) PROVIDED, HOWEVER, SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF PARAGRAPH (A) AND SUBPARA-
GRAPH  (II)  OF  PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY WHERE
THE SPECIFIED OFFENSE IS COMMITTED BY AN INMATE IN A CORRECTIONAL FACIL-
ITY AGAINST A STATE CORRECTIONAL  OFFICER  OR  FEDERAL  LAW  ENFORCEMENT
OFFICER  OR  EMPLOYEE  WHOSE PERMANENT DUTIES INCLUDE THE CARE, CUSTODY,
CONTROL OR SUPERVISION OF INMATES.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD15765-02-6

S. 8212                             2

  2. Proof of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender,  religion,
religious  practice, age, disability or sexual orientation OR EMPLOYMENT
AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, A  FIREFIGHTER  OR  AS  EMERGENCY  MEDICAL
SERVICES PERSONNEL of the defendant, the victim or of both the defendant
and  the  victim  does  not,  by  itself,  constitute legally sufficient
evidence satisfying the people's burden under paragraph (a)  or  (b)  of
subdivision one of this section.
  4. For purposes of this section:
  (a) the term "age" means sixty years old or more;
  (b)  the  term "disability" means a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits a major life activity[.];
  (C) THE TERM "LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER" MEANS  ANY  ACTIVE  OR  RETIRED
CITY  OR  STATE  LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, PEACE OFFICER, SHERIFF, DEPUTY
SHERIFF, PROBATION OR PAROLE OFFICER, MARSHAL, DEPUTY, WILDLIFE ENFORCE-
MENT AGENCY, STATE CORRECTIONAL OFFICER, OR COMMISSIONED  AGENT  OF  THE
DEPARTMENT  OF  CORRECTIONS  AND  COMMUNITY  SUPERVISION, AS WELL AS ANY
FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER  OR  EMPLOYEE,  WHOSE  PERMANENT  DUTIES
INCLUDE  MAKING  ARRESTS,  PERFORMING  SEARCH AND SEIZURES, EXECUTION OF
CRIMINAL ARREST WARRANTS, EXECUTION OF CIVIL SEIZURE WARRANTS, ANY CIVIL
FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY SHERIFFS OR DEPUTY SHERIFFS, ENFORCEMENT OF PENAL
OR TRAFFIC LAWS,  OR  THE  CARE,  CUSTODY,  CONTROL  OR  SUPERVISION  OF
INMATES;
  (D)  THE  TERM  "FIREFIGHTER"  MEANS  (I)  ANY  FIREFIGHTER  REGULARLY
EMPLOYED BY A FIRE DEPARTMENT OF ANY MUNICIPALITY OF THE  STATE  OF  NEW
YORK AND (II) ANY VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF
SECTION THREE OF THE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS' BENEFIT LAW; AND
  (E)  THE TERM "EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL" MEANS THE PERSON-
NEL OF A SERVICE OR  AGENCY,  WHETHER  PAID  OR  VOLUNTEER,  ENGAGED  IN
PROVIDING INITIAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMIT-
ED TO FIRST RESPONDERS, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS AND ADVANCED EMER-
GENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S8212

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Fred Akshar