New York Assembly Bill To Cops: "Wing 'Em, Just Like In The Westerns"

You've seen it all on the silver screen before.

The cops who just "wing 'em" when shooting bad guys.

Western "good guys" who somehow manage to shoot the guns right out of "bad guys' " hands.

The New York State Legislature will expect its cops to do precisely that, shortly.

From the New York Post:

City cops are livid over a legislative proposal that could handcuff the brave officers involved in life-and-death confrontations every day -- requiring them to shoot gun-wielding suspects in the arm or leg rather than shoot to kill, The Post has learned.

The "minimum force" bill, which surfaced in the Assembly last week, seeks to amend the state penal codes' "justification" clause that allows an officer the right to kill a thug if he feels his life or someone else's is in imminent danger.

The bill -- drafted in the wake of Sean Bell's controversial police shooting death -- would force officers to use their weapons "with the intent to stop, rather than kill" a suspect. They would be mandated to "shoot a suspect in the arm or the leg."

In the category of "stating the obvious":

Michael Paladino, president of the NYPD Detectives Endowment Association, said: "It is not realistic, and it exists only in cartoons.

"It's moronic and would create two sets of rules in the streets if there is a gunfight. This legislation would require officers to literally shoot the gun out of someone's hand or shoot to wound them in the leg or arm. I don't know of any criminal who doesn't shoot to kill. They are not bound by any restrictions."

THE PROPOSAL:

Section of Assembly Bill A02952

“A police officer or peace officer . . . uses such force with the intent to stop, rather than kill . . . and uses only the minimal amount of force necessary to effect such stop.”

THE CURRENT LAW:

Section of state Penal Law S 35.15(2)(a)(ii)

“A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person . . . unless: he or she is . . . a police officer or peace officer or a person assisting a police officer or a peace officer at the latter’s direction.”

Here is the New York bill in its totality.

Verbiage directly from the AO2952 Memo:

This bill would modify how a police officer responds when he believes he must use his gun to defend himself or another, or to apprehend a suspect who is resisting arrest. It requires the officer to use his weapon with the intent to stop, rather than to kill such a person. There is no justification for terminating another’s life when a less extreme measure may accomplish the same objective.

For example, an officer would have to try to shoot a suspect in the arm or the leg. The bill will not penalize a good faith effort to shoot with this intent, even though the shot may prove fatal. Further, the number of times an officer shoots a person should not exceed the minimal number necessary to stop the person. If one shot accomplishes the purpose, it is neither necessary or appropriate for an officer to empty his barrel. The bill is intended to limit the use of force to the minimal amount needed.

"Empty his barrel"?

I'll not go into a detailed explanation of why this is good or bad. I'll simply leave it up to my learned and common-sense readers to draw their own conclusions. Check here for commentary from the Jim Vicevich Show.

And, oh yes, this bill was -- of course -- drawn up by two Demorats.

I would ask that you very much weigh in on this one.

BZ