Civil rights groups are urging Gov. Cuomo to veto a bill that would make disciplinary policies at police departments subject to contract negotiations. The bill, supported by police unions, was quietly passed at the end of the state legislative session last month.
“This legislation would allow the disciplining of officers engaged in misconduct — a matter of important public concern — to be subject to the collective bargaining process, rather than be handled by officials who are accountable to the public,” said the letter from Communities United for Police Reform, the New York Civil Liberties Union, labor unions 1199 and 32BJ and others.
At the NYPD, the police commissioner has full discretion over discipline under a 2006 court ruling. The legislature has passed similar bills four times, but they were vetoed.