S167

The New York State Senate passed legislation amending the Criminal Procedure Law and the Penal Law on a 33-21 vote. Senate Print 167, sponsored by Sen. Gianaris and listed as Calendar Number 347, received support from a majority of the chamber. The bill, which takes effect immediately upon passage, drew opposition from 21 senators including Sens. Ashby, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chu, Gallivan, Griffo, Martinez, Martins, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Scarcella-Spanton, Stec, Tedisco, Weber, Weik, and Helming. The measure proceeded to a roll call vote without recorded floor debate in this session segment.

The New York State Senate passed legislation on Wednesday to restrict citizen's arrest laws, voting 38-23 to approve Senate Print 167, sponsored by Sen. Gianaris. The bill amends the Criminal Procedure Law to limit the circumstances under which private citizens can use physical force, including deadly force, to detain individuals suspected of crimes. Sen. Gianaris argued the current law is anachronistic and dangerous, allowing citizens to kill someone fleeing with a stolen purse. He cited Georgia's repeal of similar laws following a racially motivated killing and noted that New York City's 30,000 police officers make citizen law enforcement unnecessary. Opponents including Sens. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Borrello, and Rhoads expressed concern the bill would discourage good Samaritan intervention and create legal uncertainty for citizens and private security attempting to prevent crimes. They argued for a middle ground where intervention would be proportionate to the threat posed. An amendment proposed by Sen. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick addressing mental health law and Kendra's Law was ruled nongermane by Acting President Bailey. An appeal of that ruling failed on a show of hands vote, 20-0. The bill passed largely along party lines, with 23 senators voting in opposition.