How a Sweeping New Proposal Would Limit Police Use of Force in N.Y.

The state’s attorney general seeks to create a “last resort” rule for officers’ use of physical force, and to impose new criminal penalties for those who break it.

Police officers in New York could only use physical force as a last resort, would have to meet a higher threshold for using deadly force and would face new criminal penalties for violating those guidelines under a sweeping legislative proposal unveiled on Friday. If adopted, the changes could drastically alter the nature of law enforcement in New York at a time when the issue of police accountability is at the center of a fraught national debate over persistent racism in America’s criminal justice system. The legislation was proposed by Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, who said in a statement that her goal was to provide “clear and legitimate standards for when the use of force is acceptable and enacting real consequences for when an officer crosses that line.”