observer | NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton today called for the state to change resisting arrest to a felony charge.
Mr. Bratton testified today before a joint hearing of four State
Senate committees, where he made a number of recommendations—including
suggesting that the penalty increase for resisting arrest. Currently,
resisting arrest is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum punishment of one
year, which Mr. Bratton argued does not deter the nearly 2,000 resisting
arrest charges each year.
“I think a felony would be very helpful in terms of raising the bar
significantly in the penalty for the resistance of arrest,” Mr. Bratton
told reporters after speaking at the hearing in lower Manhattan.
The top cop reiterated previous statements that resisting arrest is
impermissible, and endangers both law enforcement and civilians.
“We need to get around this idea that you can resist arrest. You
can’t. You just can’t do it. It results in potential injuries to the
officer, to the suspect. And we need to change that, and the way to
change that is to start penalties for it,” he said.
He acknowledged that many cases may not be legitimate—advocates
complain that resisting arrest is often the only charge against someone
who was not resisting arrest for something else and that it’s often
tossed out. Mr. Bratton said the department would expand its CompStat
tracking program to monitor how many such charges are vacated.
“The vast majority might end up being dismissed,” he said, though he
suggested district attorneys at times dismiss such charges out of
hand. “We’re asking district attorneys to treat them more seriously than
they have been treated in the past.”
Mr. Bratton also called for laws instituting more severe penalties
for fatally assaulting an officer, for attacking a school safety agent
or auxiliary cop and for wearing a bullet-proof vest. He also
recommended measures mandating bulletproof glass in all police cars, and
for tighter regulations on civilian window tinting, as well as
punishments for anyone who would publicize the address and other
personal information of a police officer.
0 comments:
Post a Comment