After a heated, five-hour public testimony period, the legislature on Long Island voted 12-6 to put the bill into law. It goes into effect immediately.
This law comes as states and localities try to put limits on the rights of protesters after more than a year of protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Several attorneys attending the hearing on Monday predicted the law would be challenged on constitutional grounds.
Fines on top of potential damages from lawsuits
It states that first responders will be able to sue individuals they believe harassed, injured, menaced or assaulted them due to their status as a first responder or while they were in uniform, allowing them to collect compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
The fine amounts are based on previous human rights legislation in the county, in which fines can go up to $50,000 for some offenses and up to $100,000 for malicious acts, according to the office of Nassau County Legislator Joshua A. Lafazan, who authored the bill.
The fine would be payable to the first responder on top of potential damages paid from a lawsuit.
Many of the speakers during public testimony noted the vague language of what may or may not get them in trouble, saying the bill was meant to target anyone who challenges the police.
Lafazan told CNN on Sunday criticism that the bill targets a specific race or political ideology is “outrageous.”
“This bill, by protecting our first responders, helps guarantee every citizen’s fundamental right to freedom of speech without violence or intimidation,” he said.
Nassau County hearing debates whether law enforcement should have more protection
Monday’s hearing in Nassau County heard arguments from a variety of stakeholders, including several presidents from different police unions and activists from the area.
“While facing anti-police sentiment under intense scrutiny, our officers time and time again conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism, which has earned them the respect of every community in Nassau County,” said Nassau County Police Benevolent Association President James McDermott.
“Nassau County law enforcement deserves the support of our elected officials, and every possible protection to keep them safe throughout the course of their duties. Any attempt to say otherwise disrespects all who wear the badge,” he said.
But many countered that there was no need to give the extra weight of financial consequences when police already hold so much power.
“Police officers, if they are harassed, like one of the PBA [Police Benevolent Association] presidents said, they can arrest people,” Tracey Edwards, the NAACP Long Island director said during the hearing. “They can use the law. That’s why we have legislation. We have wonderful police officers that can protect themselves. They do not need to have a human rights law to put them above all others. And that’s what you are doing.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union also argued in a statement that the law is potentially unconstitutional as well as an unnecessary protection.
“This bill would create a novel, dangerous, and unconstitutional ‘irrebuttable presumption’ that unlawful conduct directed at police and other first responders was motivated by hatred if the responder was in uniform at the time,” the group said. “That means anyone accused under this law would face criminal sanctions, mandatory civil penalties, and civil suit damages without any opportunity to present evidence that they weren’t acting out of bias. In the criminal context, this is flatly unconstitutional.”
“These laws are misguided and counterproductive, as they undermine police-community relations, do nothing to improve first responder safety, and make a mockery of actual civil rights laws established to protect this Nation’s historically marginalized communities,” NYCLU added.