BILL NUMBER: S6489

SPONSOR: BENJAMIN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to enacting the "Wander-
ing Officers Act" prohibiting the hiring of certain persons as a police
officer

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Prevents people who have been fired as or who were in jeopardy of being
fired as a police officer in any other jurisdiction from being hired as
police officers in New York State.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Names the act as the Wandering Officers Act.

§ 2: adds a new subdivision 2-b to section 840 of the executive law to
require that the Municipal Police Force Training Council, at the Divi-
              

sion of Criminal Justice Services, shall promulgate rules and regu-
lations for the eligibility of a person's being permanently or provi-
sionally appointed as a police officer.

Any person, in any jurisdiction, who has previously been fired as a
police officer, or who has left a position as a police officer either
while under an investigation or while being the subject of a discipli-
nary action which could result in termination, or who resigned while
criminal charges were pending stemming from that person's actions
committed while on duty as a police officer, would be ineligible to be
hired in New York State as a police officer.

§ 3 sets an effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In April 2020, The Yale Law Journal published "The Wandering Officer," a
study that provides data on the problem of law enforcement officers who
left their positions as law enforcement officers and found employment at
other police departments. Because data is uneven, the study limited
itself to specific states, but it found, for example, that in Florida
alone, about three percent of police officers working in that state were
rehired despite their being discharged for bad behavior. Moreover, the
data indicate that such wandering officers are substantially more likely
to commit further acts of concern than those who were never discharged.

Currently, a person who has been fired from the position of police offi-
cer in New York or elsewhere is not automatically disqualified from
serving as a police officer in New York State.

Law enforcement officers should be held to the highest level of account-
ability, but as the public record and media reports show, a number of
police officers fail to live up to that standard. However, as things now
stand, a person could be fired as a police officer elsewhere and could
still be end up as a police officer in New York.

This legislation also covers cases where an individual who might reason-
ably have been fired or dismissed for their bad actions as a police
officer avoided actually being fired. For example, a person might have
quit with charges or an investigation still pending. This bill would
prohibit hiring such a person as well.

This bill would help to protect New Yorkers from police departments
appointing police officers who have demonstrated that they are unfit for
that office elsewhere.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.