NY State Senate Bill 2023-S5339

Senate Bill S5339

2023-2024 Legislative Session

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

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes 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
Jan 03, 2024	referred to codes
Mar 02, 2023	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2023-S5339 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6792
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §485.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S8212
2017-2018: S1114
2019-2020: S335
2021-2022: S1917

2023-S5339 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

2023-S5339 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5339

SPONSOR: WEIK
 
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 enforce-
ment 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, firefight-
er, 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 sexu-
al orientation or employment as a law enforcement officer, a firefighter
or as emergency medical services personnel of either or both the defend-
ant 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 person-
nel".

Section 2 lists the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There has been an increase in mortality rates of law enforcement offi-
cers, 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 offi-
cers died in the line of duty" which exhibited 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. 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 offi-
cers, 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:

2022: S1917 Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S5339 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5339
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 2, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  WEIK  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 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  amended  by  chapter  8  of the laws of 2019, 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  the  (I) race, color,
 national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression,  reli-
 gion,  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
 the  (I) race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity
 or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability  or  sexual
 orientation  of  a person OR (II) BECAUSE OF ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED EMPLOY-
 MENT AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, A FIREFIGHTER OR AS EMERGENCY MEDICAL
 SERVICES PERSONNEL, regardless of whether the belief  or  perception  is
 correct.
   2.  Proof  of  race,  color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender
 identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability or
 sexual orientation OR EMPLOYMENT AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER,  A  FIRE-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09116-01-3

 S. 5339                             2
 
 FIGHTER 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 "gender identity or expression" means a  person's  actual
 or  perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression,
 or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to
 that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being
 transgender;
   (D) 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, COUNTY OR  STATE  CORRECTIONAL  OFFICER,  FIRE  MARSHAL  OR
 COMMISSIONED AGENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPER-
 VISION,  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;
   (E)  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
   (F) 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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S5339

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Sponsored By

Alexis Weik