The New York State Senate passed a bill that would reverse a state law that was set in place to keep police officers’ disciplinary records sealed.
The bill passed 40-22 in the state Senate and 101-43 in the State Assembly on Tuesday, and it will now head to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said he would sign it into law this week, reported The Hill.
“We just passed the repeal of 50-a. This police secrecy statute has been a threat to our public safety for far too long. This repeal is a victor that advocates have been fighting for for years,” State Sen. Julia Salazar said on Twitter.
The 50-A law was first approved in the 1970s with the aim of shielding the personnel and disciplinary records of any police officer, corrections officer, or firefighter from being made public.
However, it has garnered attention in recent years after it was used in various cases of police-related killings.
Most notably, it has come under scrutiny following the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody last month after an officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
“We must provide greater transparency and accountability to the public in order for people to believe that the system is fair and just,” said Carl E. Heastie, an Assembly speaker, according to WKBW.
However, not everyone agrees with the repeal of 50-A. WXXI News reported that Michael Fitzpatrick, an Assemblyman from Long Island, said the bill was a move to give “red meat to the mob,” adding that this would only serve to dismantle the police force even more.
“The problem I have with this bill is that allowing unsubstantiated claims to be made available is not only unfair but plays into the hands of those forces of anarchy that want not to just defund and disband, but want to destroy the police departments of this country,” Fitzpatrick said.
Similarly, John Flanagan, the Senate GOP Minority Leader, said the move was “un-American,” according to the station.
