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Whenever any horses used in the department shall have become unfit for use therein, the commissioner, instead of causing such horses to be sold at auction, may transfer such horses to the custody of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, provided such society is willing to accept the custody thereof, to be disposed of in such manner as such society may deem best. If, however, any horse so received into the custody of such society and formerly used in the department shall thereafter be sold by such society, or any profit be derived from its use, the proceeds from such sale or use shall be paid over by such society to the commissioner, for the benefit of the police pension fund.
* Editor's note: In McClendon v. Rossetti, 460 F.2d 111 (2d Cir. 1972), the court held that certain procedures of the police property clerk, which required persons from whom property was taken in the course of an arrest to commence a court proceeding to obtain the return of such property, combined with the provisions of section 14-140(f) of the Administrative Code, which required such persons to prove lawful possession of the property, denied such persons due process of law under the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Subsequent to the McClendon decision, the Police Department and the District Attorneys adopted procedures for claiming property taken or obtained by the police in the course of an arrest which were approved by the McClendon court. These procedures are codified as subchapter B of chapter 12 of title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York.
a. Appointment, duties and security.
1. The commissioner shall employ a property clerk who shall take charge of all property and money hereinafter described.
2. All such property and money shall be described and registered by the property clerk in a record kept for that purpose, which shall contain a description of such property or money, the name and address of the owner or claimant if ascertained, the date and place where obtained or found, the name and address of the person from whom taken or obtained, with the general circumstances, the name of the officer by whom recovered or obtained, the date when received by the property clerk, the names and addresses of all claimants thereto, and any final disposition of such property or money.
3. The property clerk shall have power to administer oaths to and take affidavits and depositions of any person or claimant in all matters pertaining to the powers and duties of the property clerk, and property and money in his or her custody and claims thereto.
4. The commissioner may require and take security for the faithful performance of the duties of the property clerk.
b. Custody of property and money. All property or money taken from the person or possession of a prisoner, all property or money suspected of having been unlawfully obtained or stolen or embezzled or of being the proceeds of crime or derived through crime or derived through the conversion of unlawfully acquired property or money or derived through the use or sale of property prohibited by law from being held, used or sold, all property or money suspected of having been used as a means of committing crime or employed in aid or furtherance of crime or held, used or sold in violation of law, all money or property suspected of being the proceeds of or derived through bookmaking, policy, common gambling, keeping a gambling place or device, or any other form of illegal gambling activity and all property or money employed in or in connection with or in furtherance of any such gambling activity, all property or money taken by the police as evidence in a criminal investigation or proceeding, all property or money taken from or surrendered by a pawnbroker on suspicion of being the proceeds of crime or of having been unlawfully obtained, held or used by the person who deposited the same with the pawnbroker, all property or money which is lost or abandoned, all property or money left uncared for upon a public street, public building or public place, all property or money taken from the possession of a person appearing to be insane, intoxicated or otherwise incapable of taking care of himself or herself, that shall come into the custody of any member of the police force or criminal court, and all property or money of incarcerated individuals of any city hospital, prison or institution except the property found on deceased persons that shall remain unclaimed in its custody for a period of one month, shall be given, as soon as practicable, into the custody of and kept by the property clerk except that vehicles suspected of being stolen or abandoned and evidence vehicles as defined in subdivision b of section 20-495 of the code may be taken into custody in the manner provided for in subdivision b of section 20-519 of the code.
c. Return of property and money to person accused. Whenever property or money taken from any person arrested shall be alleged to have been feloniously obtained, or to be the proceeds of crime, and brought, with all ascertained claimants thereof, and the person arrested, before a judge of the criminal court for adjudication, and the judge of the criminal court shall be satisfied from the evidence that the person arrested is innocent of the offense alleged, and that the property rightfully belongs to him or her, then such judge thereupon, in writing, may order such property or money to be returned, and the property clerk, if he or she have it, to deliver such property or money to the accused person, and not to any attorney, agent or clerk of such accused person.
d. Disputed ownership. If any claim to the ownership of such property or money shall be made on oath before the judge, by or in behalf of any other persons than the person arrested, and such accused person shall be held for trial or examination, such property or money shall remain in the custody of the property clerk until the discharge or conviction of the person accused and until lawfully disposed of.
e. Disposition of property and money.
1. Abandoned vehicles subject to the provisions of section twelve hundred twenty-four of the vehicle and traffic law in the custody of the property clerk shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of such section twelve hundred twenty-four. The city may convert to its own use in any calendar year one percent of any such abandoned vehicles not subject to subdivision two of such section twelve hundred twenty-four which are not claimed. All moneys or property other than abandoned vehicles subject to the provisions of such section twelve hundred twenty-four that shall remain in the custody of the property clerk for a period of three months without a lawful claimant entitled thereto shall, in the case of moneys, be paid into the general fund of the city established pursuant to section one hundred nine of the charter, and in the case of property other than such abandoned vehicles, be sold at public auction after having been advertised in "the City Record" for a period of ten days and the proceeds of such sale shall be paid into such fund. In the alternative, any such property may be used or converted to use for the purpose of any city, state or federal agency, or for charitable purposes, upon consultation with the human resources administration and other appropriate city agencies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all property or money of a deceased person that shall come into the custody of the property clerk shall be delivered to a representative of the estate of such decedent and if there be no such representative, to the public administrator of the county where the decedent resided. Where moneys or property have been unlawfully obtained or stolen or embezzled or are the proceeds of crime or derived through crime or derived through the conversion of unlawfully acquired property or money or derived through the use or sale of property prohibited by law from being held, used or sold, or have been used as a means of committing crime or employed in aid or in furtherance of crime or held, used or sold in violation of law, or are the proceeds of or derived through bookmaking, policy, common gambling, keeping a gambling place or device, or any other form of illegal gambling activity or have been employed in or in connection with or in furtherance of any such gambling activity, a person who so obtained, received or derived any such moneys or property, or who so used, employed, sold or held any such moneys or property or permitted or suffered the same to be used, employed, sold or held, or who was a participant or accomplice in any such act, or a person who derives his or her claim in any manner from or through any such person, shall not be deemed to be the lawful claimant entitled to any such moneys or property except that as concerns any vehicle taken into custody in the manner provided for in subdivision b of section 20-519 of the code, the authorized tow company shall receive from the department the cost of towing and storage as provided under subdivision c of section 20-519.
2. The commissioner, however, where the property consists of any property that has been used as a means of committing crime or employed in aid or in furtherance of crime or held, used or sold in violation of law, or gambling apparatus or any property employed in or in connection with or in furtherance of any gambling activity, or burglar tools of any description, or firearms, cartridges or explosives, or armored or bullet-proof clothing or motor vehicles, or instruments, articles or medicines for the purpose of procuring abortion or preventing conception, or wines, fermented liquors and other alcoholic beverages and the receptacles thereof, or soiled, bloody or unsanitary clothing, or solids and liquids of unknown or uncertain composition, or opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine or any of its admixtures or derivatives, and other narcotics, or hypodermic syringes and needles, or obscene pictures, prints, books, publications, effigies or statues, or any poisonous, noxious, or deleterious solids or liquids, or any property which in the opinion of the commissioner, is of slight value or the sale of which might result in injury to the health, welfare or safety of the public, may direct and empower the property clerk to destroy each and every article of such nature. If, in the opinion of the commissioner, any such property may be used or converted to use for the purpose of the department or any city, state or federal agency, such property may in the discretion of the commissioner be used or converted to use for any such purpose, and the same need not be sold or destroyed as in this section provided.
3. Perishable property may be sold as soon as practicable on the best terms available and the proceeds of such sale shall be disposed of as in this section provided.
f. Lawful property right to be established. In any action or proceeding against the property clerk for or on account of any property or money in his or her custody, a claimant from whose possession such property or money was taken or obtained, or any other claimant, shall establish that he or she has a lawful title or property right in such property or money and lawfully obtained possession thereof and that such property or money was held and used in a lawful manner. In any such action or proceeding, a claimant who derives his or her title or right by assignment, transfer or otherwise from or through the person from whose possession such property or money was taken or obtained, shall further establish that such person had a lawful title or property right in such property or money and lawfully obtained possession thereof and that such property or money was held and used in a lawful manner.
g. No action for property or money held as evidence. No action or proceeding may be brought against the property clerk for or on account of any property or money held as evidence in any criminal investigation or proceeding until the termination thereof.
h. Preservation of property. Where the property consists of furs or other valuable property that may be subject to deterioration or damage if stored by the property clerk, the property clerk in his or her discretion may store such property with a private concern having special facilities for such storage, and the cost thereof shall be a lien upon such property to be paid by the owner thereof prior to the recovery of such property.
i. Removal and storage charges for motor vehicles and boats.
1. Whenever an abandoned motor vehicle or boat, or a motor vehicle or boat involved in an accident, or a boat found adrift and unoccupied upon the waters of the city of New York which is in the custody of the property clerk, shall be claimed by the owner or other person lawfully entitled to possession thereof, such owner or other person shall not be entitled to the return thereof unless he or she shall first pay to the property clerk a removal charge of twenty-five dollars and a storage charge of five dollars for each day, or fraction thereof, except that in the case of a boat found adrift and unoccupied upon the waters of the city of New York, such storage charge shall not be applied until three days after notice to the owner by registered mail from the property clerk that such boat is in police custody.
2. Whenever a stolen motor vehicle or boat, which is in the custody of the property clerk, shall not be removed by the owner or other person lawfully entitled to possession thereof within three days after notice by registered mail from the property clerk, such owner or other person shall not be entitled to the return thereof unless he or she shall first pay to the property clerk a storage charge of five dollars for each day, or fraction thereof, after the expiration of such three-day period.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs one and two of this subdivision, where the department has incurred charges for removal and storage of an abandoned or stolen motor vehicle pursuant to subchapter thirty-one of chapter two of title twenty of the code, an owner or other person lawfully entitled to possession of such motor vehicle shall not be entitled to the return thereof unless he or she shall first pay all such charges incurred by the department pursuant to such subchapter thirty-one together with any applicable storage charge provided for in this subdivision.
4. The removal and storage charges provided by this subdivision, or incurred by the department pursuant to subchapter thirty-one of chapter two of title twenty of such code, as applicable, shall be a lien upon such motor vehicle or boat and the property clerk shall refuse to return such motor vehicle or boat until such charges are paid, except that where such motor vehicle or boat is the property of an estate administered by a public administrator, the removal charge and the storage charge shall be general claims against the estate of the deceased.
5. The property clerk shall not require the payment of any charges provided by this subdivision for the removal or storage of any motor vehicle or boat in his or her custody while it is held as evidence in a criminal investigation or proceeding.
6. It shall be the duty of the property clerk to keep a complete record of the moneys collected pursuant to this subdivision. Such moneys shall be paid into the general fund of the city established pursuant to section one hundred nine of the charter.
j. Property and money desired to be produced in criminal court. If any property or money placed in the custody of the property clerk shall be desired to be produced as evidence in any criminal court, such property or money shall be delivered to any officer who shall present an order to that effect from such court. Property or money used as evidence in any criminal court shall not be retained in such court but shall be turned over as soon as practicable to the property clerk to be disposed of according to the provisions of this section.
k. Public administrators not affected. Nothing in this section shall in any way contravene, modify or repeal any existing provision of law, general, special or local, relating to the jurisdiction, powers, privileges, personnel, duties and functions of any public administrator.
(Am. L.L. 2017/131, 8/8/2017, eff. 8/8/2017; Am. 2021 N.Y. Laws Ch. 322, 8/2/2021, eff. 8/2/2021)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1987/028.
The members of the force while on duty in the city and whenever in any other part of this state, shall possess all the common law and statutory powers of constables, except for the service of civil process, and any warrant for search or arrest, issued by any judge of this state, may be executed, in any part thereof, by any member of the force.
a. As used in this section, the term "member of the auxiliary police" shall mean and include only a volunteer who is a duly enrolled member in good standing of the auxiliary police which the city is authorized to recruit by subdivision five of section twenty-three of the New York state defense emergency act, as enacted by chapter seven hundred eighty-four of the laws of nineteen hundred fifty-one, and who is not within the coverage of the workers' compensation law pursuant to group seventeen of subdivision one of section three of the workers' compensation law.
b. Pursuant to the authorization contained in group nineteen of subdivision one of section three of the workers' compensation law the coverage of the workers' compensation law is hereby extended to the activities of any member of the auxiliary police during any period which such member is actually engaged in auxiliary police activities duly authorized by regulation or order issued pursuant to the New York state defense emergency act including any such activities as may be prescribed by the commissioner of the city pursuant to such regulation or order, such coverage shall extend to such member of the auxiliary police, but only to the extent that such member is not, as to any such activities, covered by article ten of the workers' compensation law.
a. Legislative intent. In the public interest and under the powers granted by the charter to the council to enact legislation for the good and welfare of the citizens of New York, it is the intent of the council by this legislation to attract more men and women to serve as auxiliary police. These men or women are trained by our regular police forces and are similarly uniformed and equipped except that they do not carry guns. The appearance on the streets of many men or women wearing the police uniform, in precincts where auxiliary police are active, has done much to reduce the crime rates in those areas. Auxiliary police serve without pay as civic minded citizens. Their presence in uniform on the streets serves to release regular uniformed police for patrol duty and lessens the neighborhood fear of crime. Auxiliary police patrol in pairs and by radio can summon instant assistance from the regular police should they encounter a situation which they have not been trained to handle. Their presence on the streets makes for good community relations between the citizens and the regular police. It is small repayment for the valuable services they render to provide them with a uniform allowance.
b. Allowance. Duly enrolled members in good standing of the auxiliary police, upon successful completion of training, shall receive an initial allowance not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars towards the initial purchase of uniforms and accessories for same, including care and maintenance. The amount of such allowance shall be determined by the police commissioner and shall not exceed the actual costs incurred for such uniforms and accessories including care and maintenance. Such members other than those receiving such initial allowance in the then current or preceding fiscal year, shall be eligible for an allowance towards the purchase of uniforms and accessories for same, including care and maintenance to be awarded to each such member who shall otherwise qualify in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision. The commissioner shall determine the amount of the allowance to be awarded based on but not limited to the member's participation, hours of service, expense incurred in maintaining uniforms and equipment and such other facts deemed pertinent by the commissioner. Payments shall be made for the preceding fiscal year after certification by the commanding officer of the auxiliary forces section to the police commissioner of such facts as the commissioner may deem pertinent to enable him or her to make his or her determination.
c. Auxiliary police not to be members of regular police force. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section nothing contained therein shall be construed to constitute such auxiliary police officers members of the regular police force or to entitle them to the privileges and benefits of the regular police force or to become members of the police pension funds.
a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
(i) "Call" shall mean a telephone call to the 911 emergency assistance system.
(ii) "Incident" shall mean an event which results in the response of a police unit as a result of a call to the 911 emergency assistance system, regardless of the number of calls made with respect to such incident.
(iii) "Police unit" shall mean a radio motor patrol unit, patrol officer or other police department personnel.
(iv) "Dispatch time" shall mean the interval of time between the time the information received by the 911 telephone operator is entered into the 911 emergency assistance system and the assignment of a police unit to the scene of the incident.
(v) "Travel time" shall mean the interval of time between the assignment of a police unit and the arrival of the first police unit at the scene of the incident.
(vi) "Response time" shall mean the sum of dispatch time and travel time.
(vii) "Disposition" shall mean a police unit's report to the 911 emergency assistance system on its response to an assignment that has resulted from a call or incident.
b. The New York city police department shall submit to the city council an operational time analysis report summarizing departmental performance with respect to calls to the 911 emergency assistance system. Such report shall include the following information:
1. The aggregate number of calls on a citywide and borough-wide basis.
2. The aggregate number of incidents.
3. The aggregate number of incidents where the dispatcher has received a disposition from a police unit.
4. The aggregate number of incidents involving a report of a crime in progress.
5. The aggregate number of incidents involving a report of a crime in progress resulting in the dispatch of a police unit where the dispatcher received confirmation of a police unit's arrival at the scene of the incident.
6. The average dispatch time, travel time and response time for all police units responding to incidents involving a report of a crime in progress.
7. The aggregate number of incidents involving a report of a crime in progress in each of the following categories:
(i) those for which response time was no greater than ten minutes;
(ii) those for which response time was greater than ten minutes but no more than twenty minutes;
(iii) those for which response time was greater than twenty minutes but no more than thirty minutes;
(iv) those for which response time was greater than thirty minutes but no more than one hour; and
(v) those for which response time was greater than one hour.
c. The data contained in the 911 operational time analysis report required by paragraphs two through seven of subdivision b of this section shall be provided on a citywide, borough-wide, precinct-by-precinct and tour-by-tour basis. The 911 operational time analysis report shall be submitted to the council quarterly. In addition, the data contained in such report shall be incorporated in the mayor's preliminary and final management reports. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the operational time analysis report required by subdivision b to be submitted to the council is not required to be transmitted in electronic format to the department of records and information services, or its successor agency, and is not required to be made available to the public on or through the department of records and information services' web site, or its successor's web site.
a. The New York City Police Department shall submit to the city council, and post on its website in a machine-readable format, on a quarterly basis the following data and reports:
1. A report detailing the number of uniformed personnel and civilian personnel assigned to each and every patrol borough and operational bureau performing an enforcement function within the police department, including, but not limited to, each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district and patrol borough street crime unit, as well as the narcotics division, fugitive enforcement division and the special operations division including its subdivisions, but shall not include internal investigative commands and shall not include undercover officers assigned to any command. Such report shall also include, for each school operated by the department of education to which school safety agents are assigned, the number of school safety agents, averaged for the quarter, assigned to each of those schools.
2. A crime status report. Such report shall include the total number of crime complaints (categorized by class of crime, indicating whether the crime is a misdemeanor or felony) for each patrol precinct, including a subset of housing bureau and transit bureau complaints within each precinct; arrests (categorized by class of crime, indicating whether the arrest is for a misdemeanor or felony) for each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, street crime unit and narcotics division; summons activity (categorized by type of summons, indicating whether the summons is a parking violation, moving violation, environmental control board notice of violation, or criminal summons) for each patrol precinct, housing police service area and transit district; domestic violence radio runs for each patrol precinct; average response time for critical and serious crimes in progress for each patrol precinct. Such report shall also include the total number of complaints of all sex offenses as defined in article 130 of the New York state penal law, in total and disaggregated by the following offenses: rape as defined in sections 130.25, 130.30, and 130.35; criminal sexual act as defined in sections 130.40, 130.45, and 130.50; misdemeanor sex offenses as defined in sections 130.20, 130.52, 130.55, and 130.60; sexual abuse as defined in sections 130.65, 130.65-a, 130.66, 130.67, and 130.70; course of sexual conduct against a child as defined in sections 130.75 and 130.80; and predatory sexual assault as defined in sections 130.95 and 130.96. Such report shall also include the total number of major felony crime complaints for all properties under the jurisdiction of the department of parks and recreation.
3. A report based on the information provided in the department's Stop, Question and Frisk Report Worksheet and any successor form or worksheet. Such report shall include the number of stop, question and frisks for each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, street crime unit and narcotics division; a breakdown of the number of stop, question and frisks by race and gender for each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, street crime unit and narcotics division; the number of suspects arrested or issued a criminal or civil summons as indicated on each stop, question and frisk report for each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, street crime unit and narcotics division; a breakdown by race and gender of the suspects arrested or issued a criminal or civil summons as indicated on each stop, question and frisk report for each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, street crime unit and narcotics division; a listing, by category, of the factors leading to the stop, question and frisk for each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, street crime unit and narcotics division, with a breakdown by race and gender for each listed factor; and a summary of complaints of violent felony crime for each patrol precinct, with a breakdown by race and gender of the suspect as identified by the victim.
4. A report on overtime spending that shall include:
(a) The amount of overtime spending for each patrol borough and operational bureau performing an enforcement or investigative function within the department, including but not limited to, each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, narcotics division, fugitive enforcement division, and the special operations division, including its subdivisions, but not including internal investigative commands nor undercover officers assigned to any command. Such information shall be further disaggregated by the amount of overtime spending for each of the following categories: parades; protests or demonstrations; street fairs; sports or entertainment events; any other planned events; any unplanned events; supplemental patrol; investigative work; arrests; training; and any other category as determined by the department, further disaggregated by ranks of officers.
(b) A list of all such planned and unplanned events, including but not limited to, parades, protests or demonstrations, street fairs, and sports or entertainment events, and for each such event, the total amount of overtime spending and overtime hours for such event, disaggregated by ranks of officers; the numbers of officers assigned to the event, disaggregated by ranks of officers; and the average number of overtime hours required for each such officer assigned to the event, disaggregated by ranks of officers; and
(c) The total number of overtime hours for uniformed personnel projected by the department for the upcoming quarter in each precinct, disaggregated by the number of such hours projected for each of the following categories: parades; protests or demonstrations; street fairs; sports or entertainment events; any other planned events; any unplanned events; supplemental patrol; investigative work; arrests; training; and any other category as determined by the department.
5. A report of the number of firearms, including ghost guns and firearms created using a three-dimensional printer, or any piece or part thereof, possessed in violation of law that have been seized, disaggregated by precinct and type of firearm. Such report shall also include, disaggregated by precinct: (i) the number of arrests made and type of crimes charged involving firearms possessed in violation of law, including arrests for the distribution and sale of such firearms; and (ii) the total number and type of firearms recovered in the course of arrests made.
b. The New York city police department shall submit to the city council and post on its website on an annual basis a firearms discharge report, which shall include, but need not be limited to, the following information for the prior year:
1. The number of firearms incidents disaggregated by (i) day of week; (ii) tour; (iii) borough; (iv) month; (v) precinct; (vi) number of incidents that occurred outside New York city; and (vii) on-duty or off-duty status of officer.
2. The total number of firearms incidents for the year of the report and the year preceding the report, as well as the percentage change between the two years, and disaggregated by (i) intentional discharge – adversarial conflict; (ii) intentional discharge – animal attack; (iii) unintentional discharge; and (iv) unlawful use of firearm.
3. For all firearms incidents for the year of the report and the year preceding the report, both the raw number for each year and the percentage change between the two years, for each of the following categories (i) the total number of officers firing; (ii) the total number of shots fired; (iii) the total number of officers shot and injured by a subject; (iv) the total number of officers shot and killed by a subject; (v) the total number of subjects shot and injured by an officer; and (vi) the total number of subjects shot and killed by an officer.
4. The number of intentional firearms incidents disaggregated by incidents in which (i) a subject used or threatened the use of a firearm; (ii) a subject used or threatened the use of a cutting instrument; (iii) a subject used or threatened the use of a blunt object; (iv) a subject used or threatened the use of overwhelming physical force; (v) an officer perceived a threat of other deadly physical force; (vi) a dog attack was involved; and (vii) an attack by an animal other than a dog was involved.
5. The number of firearms incidents disaggregated by (i) unintentional discharge during adversarial conflict; (ii) unintentional discharge while handling a firearm; (iii) suicide; (iv) unlawful intentional discharge; and (v) unauthorized person discharging officer's firearm.
6. For each firearms incident determined to fall within the category of Intentional Discharge – Adversarial Conflict: (i) an indication of whether or not a firearm was fired by a subject; (ii) an indication of whether the subject used or threatened the use of a firearm, subject used or threatened the use of a cutting instrument, subject used or threatened the use of a blunt object, subject used or threatened the use of overwhelming physical force, or an officer perceived threat of other deadly physical force; (iii) whether or not the weapon possessed or used by a subject or subjects is known, and if known, the type of weapon used or possessed by the subject; (iv) the total number of officers who fired; (v) the total number of shots fired by officers; (vi) the number of shots fired per officer; (vii) the objective completion rate of the incident; (viii) the number of subjects; and (ix) for each subject, the age, race and gender of the subject.
7. A synopsis of each firearms incident resulting in the death of either a subject or an officer.
8. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "firearms incident" means any incident during which one or more New York city police officers discharge any firearm, or when a firearm belonging to a New York city police officer is discharged by any person, except for a discharge during an authorized training session, or while lawfully engaged in target practice or hunting, or at a firearms safety station within a department facility;
(b) "subject" means a person engaged in adversarial conflict with an officer or third party, in which the conflict results in a firearms discharge;
(c) "civilian" means a person who is not the subject in the adversarial conflict but is included as a victim, bystander, and/or injured person;
(d) "officer" means a uniformed member of the department, at any rank;
(e) "intentional firearms discharge" means a firearms discharge in which an officer intentionally discharges a firearm, which may include firearms discharges that are determined to be legally justified but outside department guidelines;
(f) "adversarial conflict" means an incident in which an officer acts in defense of self or another during an adversarial conflict with a subject and does not include an animal attack or situations in which an officer only intentionally discharges a firearm to summon assistance;
(g) "unintentional firearms discharge" means a firearms discharge in which an officer discharges a firearm without intent, regardless of the circumstance, commonly known as an accidental discharge;
(h) "unauthorized use of a firearm" means a firearms discharge that is considered unauthorized and is not listed as an intentional firearms discharge, is being discharged without proper legal justification, and includes instances when an unauthorized person discharges an officer's firearm;
(i) "frame or receiver" means a part of a firearm that provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and that is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel;
(j) "ghost gun" means any firearm that is assembled from a frame or receiver that has been marketed or sold, either individually or as part of a kit, as an unfinished frame or receiver that could be used to assemble a firearm;
(k) "three-dimensional printer" means a computer-driven machine capable of producing a three-dimensional object from a digital model by adding layers of material in succession; and
(l) "unfinished frame or receiver" means a piece of any material that does not constitute the frame or receiver of a firearm but that has been shaped or formed in any way for the purpose of becoming the frame or receiver of a firearm with modification by the user.
c. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information, data and reports requested in subdivisions a and b shall be provided to the council and posted on the department’s website, and may be transmitted in electronic format to the department of records and information services, or its successor agency, except where disclosure of such material could compromise the safety of the public or police officers or could otherwise compromise law enforcement operations. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information, data and reports requested in subdivision f are not required to be transmitted in electronic format to the department of records and information services, or its successor agency, and are not required to be made available to the public on or through the department of records and information services' web site, or its successor's web site, and are not required to be provided to the council where disclosure of such materials could compromise the safety of the public or police officers or could otherwise compromise law enforcement operations. These reports shall be provided to the council within 30 days of the end of the reporting period to which the reports correspond or for which the relevant data may be collected, whichever is later. Where necessary, the department may use preliminary data to prepare the required reports and may include an acknowledgment that such preliminary data is non-final and subject to change.
d. The New York city police department shall submit to the speaker of the council, the governor, the temporary president of the state senate and the speaker of the state assembly and post on its website annually a report detailing the total number of criminal complaints and arrests, categorized by class of crime, for violent felony offenses as defined in section 70.02 of the penal law, assault and related offenses as defined in article one hundred twenty of the penal law, sex offenses as defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law, disorderly conduct as defined in section 240.20 of the penal law, harassment as defined in section 240.25 and 240.26 of the penal law, aggravated harassment as defined in section 240.30 and 240.31 of the penal law, and offenses against public sensibilities as defined in article two hundred forty-five of the penal law, where the conduct occurs on subway lines and bus routes operated by the New York city transit authority or the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, specifying where such criminal conduct has occurred by police precinct, including specific subway line, subway transit division, and bus route operated by the New York city transit authority or the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority. Such report shall contain a separate tabulation for employees of the authority, passengers and other non-employees. Such report shall specify which bus routes had the greatest number of criminal complaints and arrests. Such statistics shall be tabulated on a monthly basis and on an annual basis and shall be maintained and transmitted in an electronic format to the department of records and information services, or its successor agency, and be made available to the public on or through the department of records and information services' website, or its successor's website. Such statistics shall be first made available on such website ninety days after the effective date of this subdivision and shall be updated on at least a monthly basis thereafter.
e. Report on domestic violence factors.
1. For the purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:
Chronic domestic violence case. The term "chronic domestic violence case" means crimes determined by the department to be related to domestic violence that involve a chronic offender.
Chronic offender. The term "chronic offender" means a perpetrator who has been arrested three or more times in an 18-month period for a crime determined by the department to be related to domestic violence.
Domestic violence. The term "domestic violence" means any crime as determined by the department, not including those done in self-defense, when committed against a family or household member as determined by the department.
Perpetrator. The term "perpetrator" means a person who has or who is alleged to have committed domestic violence.
2. Beginning June 1, 2019 and annually thereafter, the department shall submit to the mayor and speaker of the council and shall post on its website, an annual report regarding certain domestic violence initiatives, indicators, and factors in the city. Such report shall include, but need not be limited to the following:
(a) The total number of domestic violence complaints, disaggregated by precinct;
(b) The total number of chronic domestic violence complaints, disaggregated by borough;
(c) The total number of domestic violence offenders, disaggregated by precinct;
(d) The total number of chronic offenders, disaggregated by precinct;
(e) The scope of outreach efforts by the department to victims of domestic violence in cases where a perpetrator violates an order of protection issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; and
(f) Any other interventions by the department that relate to domestic violence.
f. Reports to the council. Each quarter the department shall provide to the speaker of the council:
1. All academy, in-service, roll-call and other specialized department training materials and amendments thereto distributed to cadets, recruits, officers and other employees of the department, except where disclosure of such material would reveal non-routine investigative techniques or confidential information or where disclosure could compromise the safety of the public or police officers or could otherwise compromise law enforcement investigations or operations.
2. A report of the number of positions that are civilianizable, including a listing of each such position by job title, and the number of such positions that were civilianized. For purposes of this subdivision, the term “civilianizable” means any position that does not require uniformed expertise.
(Am. 2015 N.Y. Laws Ch. 565, 12/21/2015, eff. 12/21/2015; Am. L.L. 2016/071, 6/13/2017, eff. 6/13/2016 and 6/13/2017; Am. L.L. 2016/108, 9/28/2016, eff. 10/28/2016; Am. L.L. 2016/129, 10/31/2016, eff. 1/29/2017; Am. L.L. 2019/038, 2/24/2019, eff. 2/24/2019; Am. L.L. 2019/186, 10/26/2019, eff. 10/26/2019; Am. L.L. 2024/029, 1/20/2024, eff. 7/1/2024)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2005/114 and L.L. 2016/071.
a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
1. "Bias-based profiling" means an act of a member of the force of the police department or other law enforcement officer that relies on actual or perceived race, national origin, color, creed, age, immigration or citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or housing status as the determinative factor in initiating law enforcement action against an individual, rather than an individual's behavior or other information or circumstances that links a person or persons to suspected unlawful activity.
2. "Law enforcement officer" means (i) a peace officer or police officer as defined in the Criminal Procedure Law who is employed by the city of New York; or (ii) a special patrolman appointed by the police commissioner pursuant to section 14-106 of the administrative code.
3. The terms "national origin," "gender," "disability," "sexual orientation," and "immigration or citizenship status" shall have the same meaning as in section 8-102 of the administrative code.
4. "Housing status" means the character of an individual's residence or lack thereof, whether publicly or privately owned, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, and shall include but not be limited to:
(i) an individual's ownership status with regard to the individual's residence;
(ii) the status of having or not having a fixed residence;
(iii) an individual's use of publicly assisted housing;
(iv) an individual's use of the shelter system; and
(v) an individual's actual or perceived homelessness.
b. Prohibition.
1. Every member of the police department or other law enforcement officer shall be prohibited from engaging in bias-based profiling.
2. The department shall be prohibited from engaging in bias-based profiling.
c. Private Right of Action.
1. A claim of bias-based profiling is established under this section when an individual brings an action demonstrating that:
(i) the governmental body has engaged in intentional bias-based profiling of one or more individuals and the governmental body fails to prove that such bias-based profiling (A) is necessary to achieve a compelling governmental interest and (B) was narrowly tailored to achieve that compelling governmental interest; or
(ii) one or more law enforcement officers have intentionally engaged in bias-based profiling of one or more individuals; and the law enforcement officer(s) against whom such action is brought fail(s) to prove that the law enforcement action at issue was justified by a factor(s) unrelated to unlawful discrimination.
2. A claim of bias-based profiling is also established under this section when:
(i) a policy or practice within the police department or a group of policies or practices within the police department regarding the initiation of law enforcement action has had a disparate impact on the subjects of law enforcement action on the basis of characteristics delineated in paragraph 1 of subdivision a of this section, such that the policy or practice on the subjects of law enforcement action has the effect of bias-based profiling; and
(ii) The police department fails to plead and prove as an affirmative defense that each such policy or practice bears a significant relationship to advancing a significant law enforcement objective or does not contribute to the disparate impact; provided, however, that if such person who may bring an action demonstrates that a group of policies or practices results in a disparate impact, such person shall not be required to demonstrate which specific policies or practices within the group results in such disparate impact; provided further, that a policy or practice or group of policies or practices demonstrated to result in a disparate impact shall be unlawful where such person who may bring an action produces substantial evidence that an alternative policy or practice with less disparate impact is available and the police department fails to prove that such alternative policy or practice would not serve the law enforcement objective as well.
(iii) For purposes of claims brought pursuant to this paragraph, the mere existence of a statistical imbalance between the demographic composition of the subjects of the challenged law enforcement action and the general population is not alone sufficient to establish a prima facie case of disparate impact violation unless the general population is shown to be the relevant pool for comparison, the imbalance is shown to be statistically significant and there is an identifiable policy or practice or group of policies or practices that allegedly causes the imbalance.
d. Enforcement.
1. An individual subject to bias-based profiling as defined in paragraph 1 of subdivision a of this section may file a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights, pursuant to Title 8 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, or may bring a civil action against (i) any governmental body that employs any law enforcement officer who has engaged, is engaging, or continues to engage in bias-based profiling, (ii) any law enforcement officer who has engaged, is engaging, or continues to engage in bias-based profiling, and (iii) the police department where it has engaged, is engaging, or continues to engage in bias-based profiling or policies or practices that have the effect of bias-based profiling.
2. The remedy in any civil action or administrative proceeding undertaken pursuant to this section shall be limited to injunctive and declaratory relief.
3. In any action or proceeding to enforce this section, the court may allow a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees as part of the costs, and may include expert fees as part of the attorney's fees.
e. Preservation of rights. This section shall be in addition to all rights, procedures, and remedies available under the United States Constitution, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Constitution of the State of New York and all other federal law, state law, law of the City of New York or the New York City Administrative Code, and all pre-existing civil remedies, including monetary damages, created by statute, ordinance, regulation or common law.
(Am. L.L. 2020/058, 6/29/2020, eff. 8/28/2020)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2013/071.
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