S 615: Establishes the offenses of menacing a police officer or peace officer in the first degree and menacing a police officer or peace officer in the second degree; relates to circumstances under which an officer is not required to issue an appearance ticket; makes conforming changes.
This bill aims to enhance public safety by increasing penalties for threatening or assaulting law enforcement officers. It introduces two new degrees of menacing: first degree, which involves displaying a deadly weapon, and second degree, which involves assaulting a police officer with water or other substances. The bill also modifies existing laws to better define what constitutes a peace officer and to clarify the circumstances under which an officer is not required to issue an appearance ticket. Additionally, the bill makes conforming changes to the administrative code of the city of New York to ensure consistency across all jurisdictions.<br>The bill aims to establish stricter penalties for individuals convicted of violent crimes, including menacing a police officer or peace officer, aggravated criminally negligent homicide, and aggravated manslaughter. A felony conviction for these…
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO CODES |
| Jan. 08, 2025 | REFERRED TO CODES |
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 615 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PALUMBO, GALLIVAN, HELMING, ORTT, TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the offenses of menacing a police officer or peace officer in the first degree and menacing a police officer or peace officer in the second degree; to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to circumstances under which an officer is not required to issue an appearance ticket; and to amend the penal law, the criminal procedure law and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to making conforming changes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 120.18 of the penal law, as added by chapter 765 of 2 the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 3 § [120.18] 120.18-a Menacing a police officer or peace officer in the 4 first degree. 5 A person is guilty of menacing a police officer or peace officer in 6 the first degree when [he or she] such person intentionally places or 7 attempts to place a police officer or peace officer in reasonable fear 8 of physical injury, serious physical injury or death by displaying a 9 deadly weapon, knife, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun or 10 other firearm, whether operable or not, where such officer was in the 11 course of performing [his or her] their official duties and the defend- 12 ant knew or reasonably should have known that such victim was a police 13 officer or peace officer. 14 Menacing a police officer or peace officer in the first degree is a 15 class [D] C felony. 16 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 120.18 to read 17 as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01567-02-5S. 615 2 1 § 120.18 Menacing a police officer or peace officer in the second 2 degree. 3 A person is guilty of menacing a police officer or peace officer in 4 the second degree when such person intentionally assaults a police offi- 5 cer or peace officer by throwing or spraying water, urine, or any other 6 substance where such officer was in the course of performing their offi- 7 cial duties and the defendant knew or reasonably should have known that 8 such victim was a police officer or peace officer. 9 Menacing a police officer or peace officer in the second degree is a 10 class D felony. 11 § 3. Subparagraphs (x) and (xi) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of 12 section 150.20 of the criminal procedure law, as added by section 1 of 13 subpart B of part UU of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, are amended and 14 a new subparagraph (xii) is added to read as follows: 15 (x) the person is eighteen years of age or older and charged with a 16 hate crime as defined in section 485.05 of the penal law; [or] 17 (xi) the offense is a qualifying offense pursuant to paragraph (t) of 18 subdivision four of section 510.10 of this chapter, or pursuant to para- 19 graph (t) of subdivision four of section 530.40 of this chapter[.]; or 20 (xii) the person is charged with menacing a police officer or peace 21 officer in the second degree as defined in section 120.18 of the penal 22 law. 23 § 4. Subdivision 20 of section 10.00 of the penal law, as added by 24 chapter 765 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 25 20. For purposes of sections 120.13, 120.18, 120.18-a, 125.11, 125.21 26 and 125.22 of this chapter, the term "peace officer" means a peace offi- 27 cer as defined in subdivision one, two, three, four, six, twelve, thir- 28 teen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty- 29 one, twenty-three, twenty-three-a, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, 30 twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-four, 31 thirty-five, thirty-six, forty-three, forty-five, forty-seven, forty- 32 eight, forty-nine, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-eight, sixty-one, as 33 added by chapter two hundred fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred 34 ninety-two, [sixty-one, as added by chapter three hundred twenty-one of35the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-two,] sixty-two, as added by chapter 36 two hundred four of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-three, sixty- 37 two, as added by chapter six hundred eighty-seven of the laws of nine- 38 teen hundred ninety-three, sixty-three, as amended by chapter six 39 hundred thirty-eight of the laws of two thousand three, sixty-four, 40 sixty-five, sixty-eight, as added by chapter one hundred sixty-eight of 41 the laws of two thousand, sixty-eight, as added by chapter three hundred 42 eighty-one of the laws of two thousand, seventy, seventy-one, seventy- 43 four, as added by chapter five hundred forty-eight of the laws of two 44 thousand one, seventy-five, as added by chapter three hundred twenty-one 45 of the laws of two thousand two, seventy-five, as added by chapter six 46 hundred twenty-three of the laws of two thousand two, seventy-seven, as 47 added by chapter three hundred sixty-seven of the laws of two thousand 48 four, seventy-eight or seventy-nine, as added by chapter two hundred 49 forty-one of the laws of two thousand four, of section 2.10 of the crim- 50 inal procedure law, as well as any federal law enforcement officer 51 defined in section 2.15 of the criminal procedure law. 52 § 5. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 1, paragraph (b-1) of 53 subdivision 2 and paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 70.02 of the 54 penal law, paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 94 of 55 the laws of 2020, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 56 23 of the laws of 2024, paragraph (b-1) of subdivision 2 as added byS. 615 3 1 chapter 765 of the laws of 2005, and paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 as 2 amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, are amended to read as 3 follows: 4 (b) Class C violent felony offenses: an attempt to commit any of the 5 class B felonies set forth in paragraph (a) of this subdivision; menac- 6 ing a police officer or peace officer in the first degree as defined in 7 section 120.18-a, aggravated criminally negligent homicide as defined in 8 section 125.11, aggravated manslaughter in the second degree as defined 9 in section 125.21, aggravated sexual abuse in the second degree as 10 defined in section 130.67, assault on a peace officer, police officer, 11 firefighter or emergency medical services professional as defined in 12 section 120.08, assault on a judge as defined in section 120.09, gang 13 assault in the second degree as defined in section 120.06, strangulation 14 in the first degree as defined in section 121.13, aggravated strangula- 15 tion as defined in section 121.13-a, burglary in the second degree as 16 defined in section 140.25, robbery in the second degree as defined in 17 section 160.10, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree as 18 defined in section 265.03, criminal use of a firearm in the second 19 degree as defined in section 265.08, criminal sale of a firearm in the 20 second degree as defined in section 265.12, criminal sale of a firearm 21 with the aid of a minor as defined in section 265.14, aggravated crimi- 22 nal possession of a weapon as defined in section 265.19, soliciting or 23 providing support for an act of terrorism in the first degree as defined 24 in section 490.15, hindering prosecution of terrorism in the second 25 degree as defined in section 490.30, and criminal possession of a chemi- 26 cal weapon or biological weapon in the third degree as defined in 27 section 490.37. 28 (c) Class D violent felony offenses: an attempt to commit any of the 29 class C felonies set forth in paragraph (b); reckless assault of a child 30 as defined in section 120.02, assault in the second degree as defined in 31 section 120.05, menacing a police officer or peace officer in the second 32 degree as defined in section 120.18, stalking in the first degree, as 33 defined in subdivision one of section 120.60, strangulation in the 34 second degree as defined in section 121.12, rape in the second degree as 35 defined in section 130.30, a crime formerly defined in section 130.45, 36 sexual abuse in the first degree as defined in section 130.65, course of 37 sexual conduct against a child in the second degree as defined in 38 section 130.80, aggravated sexual abuse in the third degree as defined 39 in section 130.66, facilitating a sex offense with a controlled 40 substance as defined in section 130.90, labor trafficking as defined in 41 paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision three of section 135.35, criminal 42 possession of a weapon in the third degree as defined in subdivision 43 five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten of section 265.02, criminal sale of 44 a firearm in the third degree as defined in section 265.11, intimidating 45 a victim or witness in the second degree as defined in section 215.16, 46 soliciting or providing support for an act of terrorism in the second 47 degree as defined in section 490.10, and making a terroristic threat as 48 defined in section 490.20, falsely reporting an incident in the first 49 degree as defined in section 240.60, placing a false bomb or hazardous 50 substance in the first degree as defined in section 240.62, placing a 51 false bomb or hazardous substance in a sports stadium or arena, mass 52 transportation facility or enclosed shopping mall as defined in section 53 240.63, aggravated unpermitted use of indoor pyrotechnics in the first 54 degree as defined in section 405.18, and criminal manufacture, sale, or 55 transport of an undetectable firearm, rifle or shotgun as defined in 56 section 265.50.S. 615 4 1 (b-1) Except as provided in subdivision six of section 60.05, the 2 sentence imposed upon a person who stands convicted of the class D 3 violent felony offense of menacing a police officer or peace officer in 4 the second degree as defined in section 120.18 of this chapter must be a 5 determinate sentence of imprisonment. 6 (c) For a class D felony, the term must be at least two years and must 7 not exceed seven years, provided, however, that the term must be: (i) at 8 least two years and must not exceed eight years where the sentence is 9 for the crime of menacing a police officer or peace officer in the 10 second degree as defined in section 120.18 of this chapter; and (ii) at 11 least three and one-half years and must not exceed seven years where the 12 sentence is imposed for the crime of criminal possession of a weapon in 13 the third degree as defined in subdivision ten of section 265.02 of this 14 chapter; 15 § 6. Paragraph (t) of subdivision 8 of section 700.05 of the criminal 16 procedure law, as added by chapter 765 of the laws of 2005, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 (t) Menacing a police officer or peace officer in the second degree as 19 defined in section 120.18 of the penal law; menacing a police officer or 20 peace officer in the first degree as defined in section 120.18-a of the 21 penal law; aggravated criminally negligent homicide as defined in 22 section 125.11 of the penal law; aggravated manslaughter in the second 23 degree as defined in section 125.21 of the penal law; aggravated 24 manslaughter in the first degree as defined in section 125.22 of the 25 penal law; aggravated murder as defined in section 125.26 of the penal 26 law. 27 § 7. Subparagraph i of paragraph 7 of subdivision a of section 9-131 28 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by chap- 29 ter 189 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 30 i. a felony defined in any of the following sections of the penal law: 31 120.01, 120.02, 120.03, 120.04, 120.04-a(4), 120.05, 120.06, 120.07, 32 120.08, 120.09, 120.10, 120.11, 120.12, 120.13, 120.18, 120.18-a, 33 120.25, 120.55, 120.60, 120.70, 121.12, 121.13, 125.10, 125.11, 125.12, 34 125.13, 125.14, 125.15, 125.20, 125.21, 125.22, 125.25, 125.26, 125.27, 35 [125.40, 125.45,] 130.25, 130.30, 130.35, [130.40, 130.45, 130.50,] 36 130.53, 130.65, 130.65-a, 130.66, 130.67, 130.70, 130.75, 130.80, 37 130.85, 130.90, 130.95, 130.96, 135.10, 135.20, 135.25, 135.35, 135.50, 38 135.65(2)(b), 140.17, 140.25, 140.30, 145.12, 150.05, 150.10, 150.15, 39 150.20, 160.05, 160.10, 160.15, 195.07, 195.08, 195.17, 215.11, 215.12, 40 215.13, 215.15, 215.16, 215.17, 215.51, 215.52, 220.18, 220.21, 220.28, 41 220.41, 220.43, 220.44, 220.48, 220.77, 230.05, 230.06, 230.19, 42 230.25(2), 230.30, 230.32, 230.33, 230.34, 230.34-a, 235.22, 240.06, 43 240.55, 240.60, 240.61, 240.62, 240.63, 240.75, 241.05, 255.26, 255.27, 44 260.25, 260.32, 260.34, 263.05, 263.10, 263.11, 263.15, 263.16, 263.30, 45 265.01-a, 265.01-b, 265.02(2) through (8), 265.03, 265.04, 265.08, 46 265.09, 265.10, 265.11, 265.12, 265.13, 265.14, 265.16, 265.17, 265.19, 47 265.35(2), 270.30, 270.35, 405.16(1), 405.18, 460.22, 470.21, 470.22, 48 470.23, 470.24, 490.10, 490.15, 490.20, 490.25, 490.30, 490.35, 490.37, 49 490.40, 490.45, 490.47, 490.50, or 490.55; 50 § 8. Subparagraph i of paragraph 6 of subdivision a of section 14-154 51 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by chap- 52 ter 189 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 53 i. a felony defined in any of the following sections of the penal law: 54 120.01, 120.02, 120.03, 120.04, 120.04-a(4), 120.05, 120.06, 120.07, 55 120.08, 120.09, 120.10, 120.11, 120.12, 120.13, 120.18, 120.18-a, 56 120.25, 120.55, 120.60, 120.70, 121.12, 121.13, 125.10, 125.11, 125.12,S. 615 5 1 125.13, 125.14, 125.15, 125.20, 125.21, 125.22, 125.25, 125.26, 125.27, 2 [125.40, 125.45,] 130.25, 130.30, 130.35, [130.40, 130.45, 130.50,] 3 130.53, 130.65, 130.65-a, 130.66, 130.67, 130.70, 130.75, 130.80, 4 130.85, 130.90, 130.95, 130.96, 135.10, 135.20, 135.25, 135.35, 135.50, 5 135.65(2)(b), 140.17, 140.25, 140.30, 145.12, 150.05, 150.10, 150.15, 6 150.20, 160.05, 160.10, 160.15, 195.07, 195.08, 195.17, 215.11, 215.12, 7 215.13, 215.15, 215.16, 215.17, 215.51, 215.52, 220.18, 220.21, 220.28, 8 220.41, 220.43, 220.44, 220.48, 220.77, 230.05, 230.06, 230.19, 9 230.25(2), 230.30, 230.32, 230.33, 230.34, 230.34-a, 235.22, 240.06, 10 240.55, 240.60, 240.61, 240.62, 240.63, 240.75, 241.05, 255.26, 255.27, 11 260.25, 260.32, 260.34, 263.05, 263.10, 263.11, 263.15, 263.16, 263.30, 12 265.01-a, 265.01-b, 265.02 (2) through (8), 265.03, 265.04, 265.08, 13 265.09, 265.10, 265.11, 265.12, 265.13, 265.14, 265.16, 265.17, 265.19, 14 265.35(2), 270.30, 270.35, 405.16(l), 405.18, 460.22, 470.21, 470.22, 15 470.23, 470.24, 490.10, 490.15, 490.20, 490.25, 490.30, 490.35, 490.37, 16 490.40, 490.45, 490.47, 490.50, or 490.55; 17 § 9. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 18 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.