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TEA, Marshal Assault Penalties Toughened;
Enacts Bill
Enacts Bill
Face Jail Time The law raises the offense to assault in the second degree, a Class D felony, carrying with it a sentence of 2-1/3 to 7 years in jail. The current charge of assault in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor, carries a maximum sentence of a year's imprisonment and/or a $1,000 fine. The penal code already protects other law-enforcement officials, making it felony to intentionally prevent peace officers, police officers, firefighters, Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and medical personnel working in hospital emergency rooms from performing their jobs, or to intentionally cause them physical harm while on duty. "These are serious offenses," said Governor Paterson in an April 24 interview. "I don't think it's really understood, because this law involves the work force and labor unions. The message it sends affects masses of people. That's usually the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony. A misdemeanor is in a sense an individual crime. When you are sentenced to that felony, the court and the society [are] sending a message to all potential violators." According to an April 14 memo in support of the bill from Mayor Bloomberg, 47 TEAs were assaulted in 2006. Mr. Bloomberg, in a statement following the bill's enactment, said, "Traffic Enforcement Agents and City Marshals support our sworn officers and have contributed to the historic drops in crime the city is experiencing. They help keep us safe, and we need to do our part to make their job safer by enacting laws that protect them. This bill sends a strong message that criminals will be held accountable." TEA Union Head Elated "It's a beautiful thing," said James Huntley, President of Communication Workers of America Local 1182, representing the city's 2,200 first- and second-level TEAs, responsible for directing traffic and issuing summons. "For the first time in history, now our agents have the right to go out there, enforce the law and have protection by New York City and New York State." An agent patrolling the corner of Broadway and Chambers Sts. in lower Manhattan said he knows colleagues who have had their feet intentionally run over and others who have had scalding hot coffee thrown at them. Mr. Huntley said his members have been punched, stabbed, spat upon, hit by cars, hit by mirrors and had their ankles broken. "If you can think of it, we've been through it." Mark Rosenthal, the president of Local 983 of District Council 37, representing 250 upper-level TEAs responsible for operating tow trucks, assisting disabled vehicles and enforcing construction site regulations, said the bill was long overdue, and applauded state lawmakers. Union vice-president Marvin Robbins has been on the job close to 20 years, and said he was appalled at the lowly legal status given to TEAs until now. Cites Horror Story "Even police dogs and horses are treated better. If someone assaults us they get a fine. If they assault the horse, it's a felony," he said in an April 25 phone interview. He said one of the most horrendous incidents involved a pregnant traffic agent who was hit in the stomach by a man she was ticketing in Brooklyn. Two days later, she suffered a miscarriage. Ken Kelly, executive director of the New York City Marshals Association, was also thrilled with the new law. The 43 City Marshals who enforce civil court orders including evictions, car seizures and money judgments have been trying to get the bill passed since 2001, when a marshal was killed while trying to evict a tenant from her Brooklyn apartment. He had been beaten and burned alive. "It's something we've worked on for a long period of time and I had been in favor of it since I was a legislator," said Governor Patterson. "It wasn't a hard thing to sign." |
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