Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a sweeping package of police accountability measures that received new backing following protests of George Floyd’s killing.

The laws were approved this week by the state’s Democratic-led legislature.

Cuomo calls it an historic moment for New York and says the measure were long overdue.

"The murder of George Floyd was just the tipping point of the systemic injustice and discrimination that has been going on in our nation for decades, if not centuries,"  Cuomo said. "These are issues that the country has been talking about for a long time, and these nation-leading reforms will make long overdue changes to our policing and criminal justice systems while helping to restore community confidence in law enforcement.

One new law allows the release of officers’ long-withheld disciplinary records.

Other laws will ban police chokeholds and set up a special prosecutor’s office to investigate the deaths of people during and following encounters with police officers.

Cuomo also signed an Executive Order today – the “New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative” -- that requires local police agencies develop a plan that reinvents and modernizes police strategies and programs based on community input.

Police force must adopt a plan by April 1, 2021 to be eligible for future state funding.

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PHOTOS: Protests around the world in the wake of George Floyd's death

 

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