You are reading

Cuomo Signs Police Reform Bills Into Law

(Kevin P. Coughlin _ Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

June 12, 2020 By Michael Dorgan

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a package of police reform bills into law Friday that seeks to improve relations between cops and the general public.

The legislation, which was hurried through the state legislature earlier this week, will make police disciplinary records public, ban cops from using chokeholds on civilians and classifies false race-based 911 calls as hate crimes.

The governor also issued an executive order requiring local governments and the NYPD to modernize police strategies and programs.

The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop last month coupled with a series of recent NYPD beatings at protests prompted officials to make law changes.

Cuomo said that relations between cops and civilians needs to be repaired and that police reform is long overdue.

“There is no trust between the community and the police, that’s what the protests have said,” Cuomo declared at a press briefing.

“And if there is no trust, the relationship doesn’t work and the police can’t effectively police,” he said.

The new laws form part of the governor’s “Say Their Name” reform agenda which he proposed last week.

Cuomo’s signature was the final step needed to repeal 50-A, which for decades had sealed police officers’ personnel records from public viewing. The bill had passed the Assembly and Senate on Tuesday.

Critics have accused the NYPD of using 50-A to hide the disciplinary and misconduct records of its officers from the public. The new law makes disciplinary records available upon Freedom of Information requests.

The governor signed off on legislation that bans cops from using chokeholds on civilians, a method roundly condemned by police reformists in light of the death of Eric Garner in 2014. Garner died after being placed in a chokehold by an NYPD officer in Staten Island. The new law carries a maximum 15 year prison sentence for offenders.

Cuomo also signed an executive order Friday that calls on all police forces throughout the state to come up with new policies and procedures when it comes to the use of force on civilians.

The order gives local governments and police departments until April 1, 2021 to implement new reforms. Should they fail to meet the deadline, they will have their state police funding pulled, he said.

Cuomo also designated State Attorney General Letitia James the power to conduct independent prosecutions for any in-custody civilian deaths.

Longtime civil rights activist Al Sharpton, who accompanied Cuomo at the signings, praised the governor for the latest round of reforms.

“Andrew Cuomo has raised the bar, and I hope every governor in this country will be asked today whether or not they’re going to do what he just did,” Sharpton said.

However, the head of the city’s largest police union slammed Cuomo and claimed the new laws would prevent cops from doing their jobs.

“We will be permanently frozen, stripped of all resources and unable to do the job,” Patrick Lynch, President of the Police Benevolent Association said.

“We don’t want to see our communities suffer, but this is what Governor Cuomo and our elected leaders have chosen.”

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Community gathers in Kew Gardens Hills to remember 9/11 with prayer, reflection and unity

Sep. 16, 2025 By Robert Pearl

As the nation marked the 24th anniversary of Sept. 11, the Jewish community of Kew Gardens Hills came together on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills for a moving memorial service that honored the lives lost and the resilience of New Yorkers. Hosted by Zev Brenner of the podcast “Talkline with Zev Brenner,” the solemn evening blended prayer, music and heartfelt words from civic leaders and neighbors.

With US Open done, Kantu serves up winning brunch in Forest Hills

Sep. 9, 2025 By Claude Solnik

Brunch, or at least breakfast, is a fairly common offering across New York City restaurants. And these morning meals often follow basic rules and menus with fairly similar offerings such as eggs, traditional omelets and maybe a Mimosa. When it comes to good food and, in particular, brunches that depart from the usual, Kantu really can do.

Rego Park sex offender pleads guilty to charges of sexually exploiting young girls on Long Island: Feds

A convicted sex offender from Rego Park pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and admitted to soliciting and receiving sexually explicit images and videos from four young girls during a plea hearing in the federal courthouse in Central Islip on Friday. Anthony Pangallo, 41, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment and up to 50 years in prison.

According to court filings and statements during the plea proceeding, Pangallo was initially arrested on May 20, 2021, at his Rego Park residence, on state charges filed in Westport, Connecticut. Those charges, which remain pending, involved a 15-year-old victim whom Pangallo met online and manipulated into sending him sexually explicit images of herself.