Repeal of 50-A

This past Tuesday, June 9th, New York Lawmakers took action and voted to repeal a state law known as 50-A, with a vote of 40-22 with no Republicans voting for the bill. This state law, initially passed in the 1970’s, was used by police departments to conceal disciplinary records of officers. Specifically, this law prohibited the public from knowing any past police misconduct and/or disciplinary actions faced by police officers, correction officers, and firefighters. Departments have been fighting to keep this law intact because of its “unavoidable and irreparable harm to reputation and livelihood” of their officers. However, many advocates, including New York United for Justice, emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability to build trust with the public and law enforcement.

The public began to fight for the repeal of 50-A in 2014 following the murder of Eric Garner. The then-officer responsible for Garner’s death, Daniel Panteleo, had 7 disciplinary complaints and 14 individual allegations against him, all of which were shielded because of 50-A. More recently, the killing of George Floyd brought even more outrage and demand to the removal of this law. The officer responsible, Derek Chauvin, had 18 complaints and 3 officer-involved shootings on his record, one of which was fatal.

Had these officers, and others like them, been held responsible and punished for their first complaints, any future misconduct could have been prevented. Authoritative figures, especially police officers, must be held to higher standards, which can begin with increased qualifications, education, and training. They must be reprimanded for any misconduct and removed from their positions if necessary. While not nearly enough has been done to address police brutality, with this newfound transparency it brings hope that officers will be held to a higher standard and accountable for their actions which will ideally prevent further crimes.