springfield30-06
Member
Bill: Officers should shoot to stop, not to kill
Video on link http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/state-1274218-assembly-officers.html
May 25, 2010 6:36 PM
Chris White
ALBANY -- A bill in the Assembly would change drastically police policy in New York State in the way officers use their weapons.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Annette Robinson (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant), would instruct police and peace officers to use their weapons only with the intent to stop and not to kill a person.
“There is no justification for terminating another's life when a less extreme measure may accomplish the same objective,” states a memo that accompanies the bill.
Officers would instead be instructed to try to shoot a suspect in the arm or the leg.
“In recent years, the killing of criminal suspects by police has focused the public attention on how police respond when the suspect is a member of an ethnic minority,” the memo states. “The issue is highly controversial, with critics accusing the police of racism while supporters deny any racism and assert that the killings have been in good faith or an unfortunate mistake.”
And officer who did kill with that intent would not be penalized, according to the proposed legislation.
Police work is guided by the use of force continuum.
Lethal force, according to the National Institute of Justice, should only be used “if a suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or another individual.”
Troy Police Chief John Tedesco says the intentions are good but aren't practical. "You are going to put officers lives in danger. What we really want is for the officer not to think but we want the offcier to be able to react. He doesn't want to stop and say well gee if I don't hit this fellow in the shoulder, i'm probably going to prison. There's going to be cops out on the streets getting killed over this legislation."
The proposed bill has no Senate sponsorship and no votes in the Assembly as of Tuesday May 25th.
One Capital source says the bill is virtually dead in the Assembly anyway.
Video on link http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/state-1274218-assembly-officers.html
May 25, 2010 6:36 PM
Chris White
ALBANY -- A bill in the Assembly would change drastically police policy in New York State in the way officers use their weapons.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Annette Robinson (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant), would instruct police and peace officers to use their weapons only with the intent to stop and not to kill a person.
“There is no justification for terminating another's life when a less extreme measure may accomplish the same objective,” states a memo that accompanies the bill.
Officers would instead be instructed to try to shoot a suspect in the arm or the leg.
“In recent years, the killing of criminal suspects by police has focused the public attention on how police respond when the suspect is a member of an ethnic minority,” the memo states. “The issue is highly controversial, with critics accusing the police of racism while supporters deny any racism and assert that the killings have been in good faith or an unfortunate mistake.”
And officer who did kill with that intent would not be penalized, according to the proposed legislation.
Police work is guided by the use of force continuum.
Lethal force, according to the National Institute of Justice, should only be used “if a suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or another individual.”
Troy Police Chief John Tedesco says the intentions are good but aren't practical. "You are going to put officers lives in danger. What we really want is for the officer not to think but we want the offcier to be able to react. He doesn't want to stop and say well gee if I don't hit this fellow in the shoulder, i'm probably going to prison. There's going to be cops out on the streets getting killed over this legislation."
The proposed bill has no Senate sponsorship and no votes in the Assembly as of Tuesday May 25th.
One Capital source says the bill is virtually dead in the Assembly anyway.
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