New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a sweeping package of police accountability measures that received new backing following protests of George Floyd’s killing.
The laws signed Friday include one allowing the release of officers’ long-withheld disciplinary records. The measures were approved this week by the state’s Democratic-led Legislature. Some of the bills had been proposed in years past and failed to win approval, but lawmakers moved with urgency in the wake of nationwide demonstrations.
The laws signed by Cuomo, a Democrat, will ban police chokeholds, make it easier to sue people who call police on others without good reason, and set up a special prosecutor’s office to investigate the deaths of people during and following encounters with police officers.