ALBANY – Senator Fred Akshar introduced the Community Heroes Protection Act on Monday, January 30, which designates crimes that specifically target police, firefighters, and other emergency service workers as punishable as hate crimes.
“We are living in a time where our nation is divided and crimes against first responders and police officers are on the rise,” said Senator Akshar. “Thousands of men and women voluntarily put their uniforms on every day to protect and serve our communities in a capacity no other could, even when there are very few willing to stand up for them.”
The act classifies all crimes against first responders – law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel – as hate crimes, in the event that the crime was motivated by the nature of the victims' career as a first responder.
Per a release from Senator Akshar's office, the Community Heroes Protection Act was inspired by the many brave men and women in uniforms who have lost their lives, were injured or targeted, simply because of their professions. Between 2015 and 2016, according to Akshar, researchers found that there was a 68 percent increase in firearm related fatalities among law enforcement employees, bringing the total number of officers who were fatally shot in 2016 to 64.
Akshar – an Afton native – has a law enforcement background as he served as the former Undersheriff of the Broome County Sheriff's Office before being elected Senator of New York's 52nd State Senate District in 2015.
Studies have shown, according to Akshar, that law enforcement officers are not the only first responders being violently targeted. In New York, areas such as Cape Vincent and Webster have seen ambush-style attacks on EMTs, firefighters, and 911 dispatchers.
“Many families, friends, and colleagues are unjustly losing loved ones and it is our duty to offer our Community Heroes respect and to ensure their protection, just as they risk their lives every day to ensure ours,” said Akshar.
Akshar was joined by Senators Martin Golden and Patrick Gallivan for the announcement, both in support of the proposed Community Heroes Protection Act.
“[The Community Heroes Protection Act] will allow our prosecutors and judges to ensure that an offender receives a punishment that fits this heinous crime,” said Senator Golden, a former New York City Police Officer. “As legislators, it is our obligation to help protect our law enforcement officers, firefighters, corrections officers, and medical service personnel as they perform their critical duties protecting the citizens of New York State. Although there will always be danger, I am confident that Community Heroes Protection Act will help protect New York State.”
Senator Gallivan – a former NYS Trooper and Sheriff of Erie County – said, “I am deeply troubled by incidents in New York and across the country where men and women in uniform have been targeted because of who they represent, when in fact they represent all of us. By imposing stiffer penalties on those who perpetrate such crimes, we are sending a clear message that we stand with law enforcement and other emergency personnel who put their lives on the line in an effort to build safer communities for everyone.”
Akshar concluded his announcement by stating that the passage of stiffer penalties will not single-handedly protect emergency service workers, nor will it mend the relationships between responders and those they serve, but he believes it is a stepping stone in the right direction.
“It's incumbent upon all of us on both sides of the uniforms to talk to each other, to become involved in each others' lives and make an effort to truly understand each others' perspectives,” said Akshar. “Only then can we build stronger, safer communities for everyone in them.”