Paterson Vetoes Bills Boosting Peace Officer Ranks; Cites Training

Governor Paterson has vetoed 10 different bills which would have granted peace officer status to uniformed members of various towns, villages or other municipalities across the state.

GOVERNOR PATERSON: Current training insufficient.

Peace officer status grants broad law-enforcement authority including powers of warrantless arrest, to use reasonable force in making arrests, constitutionally permissible warrantless searches, and the right to issue parking tickets. "I do not believe that such sweeping powers should be granted except on a real showing of a legitimate need," Governor Paterson wrote in his Sept. 4 veto message covering the various measures.

Cites Insufficient Training

"Even apart from the showing of need, there is another consideration compelling me to disapprove this bill. The training requirements for peace officers under current law are woefully inadequate. The Municipal Police Training Council is barred by law from requiring more than 35 hours of training for full-time peace officers, or 10 hours of training for part-time officers. Those levels are utterly insufficient given the breadth of the law enforcement powers that peace officers are authorized to exercise." In comparison, Police Officers receive more than 500 hours of training and at least 160 hours of supervised field training, according to the Legislature.

"The current peace officer training requirements were enacted in 1980, [and] the environment in which peace officers carry out their functions, powers and duties has changed drastically since that time, and the 35-hour limitation on training is now anachronistic," wrote Brooklyn Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol in support of the peace officer legislation.

Last year, then-Governor Spitzer vetoed 16 similar bills on peace officer status, citing in his veto message the need for appropriate criteria to be developed for granting it. The Division of Criminal Justice Services worked with the State Legislature to introduce bills to revamp the peace officer statute. The bill, which did not pass either house, set out to create different categories of peace officer and corresponding training.

Governor Paterson's veto covered employees in titles including Fire Marshal and Marine Patrol Officer.

"Until our laws governing peace officers are reformed to provide sufficiently for public safety, I am reluctant to allow the continued expansion of peace officer ranks," the Governor wrote. "Once we provide for proper training in the exercise of the sweeping powers that these officers are authorized to exercise, then we can prudently address whether the statute should be amended to create additional categories of peace officers."