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ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo has promised a “soup to nuts” review of the justice system after a grand jury failed to indict the cop who killed Eric Garner, but state Senate Republicans pose a roadblock to any reform — with one prominent member saying that the very same system “worked.”
Some members of the GOP are expressing sympathy over Garner’s death, but the party, which will have full control of the chamber next year, is not expected to embrace proposals if members think reform could hamstring police.
“You don’t want to fix something that’s not broken,” said Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn). “We’ll look at anything, but I don’t know what changes are going to be made.”
Golden, a former NYPD cop, branded Garner’s death “unfortunate,” but claimed it would not have happened had the Staten Island resident not resisted arrest.
He also said that the grand jury process — which led to no indictment against NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Garner’s chokehold death — worked properly.
“I personally think there’s no changes to be made,” Golden said. “The system worked. The grand jury acted appropriately.”
One of Golden’s Senate GOP agreed wholesale changes are unlikely.
“I don’t think it’s going to be too well received,” the senator said. “Obviously Republicans generally are more law-and-order types.”
Cuomo last week listed a host of changes he’d consider, such as whether special prosecutors should be used in cases where unarmed civilians are killed by police, whether there are diversity issues in the police force, if grand juries need to be reformed, more guidance over the roles of district attorneys, whether to buy body cameras for police, and how to better train cop.
Golden’s fellow senator said he favors some reform measures, such as making the grand jury process more transparent and requiring more training and body cameras for officers — but quickly added that it’s unclear if the entire GOP conference would undertake even those less controversial moves.
One seemingly non-starter is a proposal being pushed by Democrats to require that special prosecutors, not local district attorneys, handle cases where police kill unarmed civilians-an idea pooh-poohed by Golden and his colleague.
The Assembly repeatedly passed a similar bill sponsored by Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Manhattan) between 2003 and 2009 as part of a police reform package. It died each time in the Senate.
A Cuomo aide said Sunday that “no serious conversations have occurred yet and any reform package will require a comprehensive review and public discussion. At this point in the calendar, we do not anticipate that happening before” the legislative session begins in January.
Cuomo is expected to highlight the issue in his State of the State address next month.
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Chances for the first state legislative pay raise since 1999 are already dim — but legislative officials say this week is likely make or break.
The state Constitution does not allow a sitting Legislature to give itself a raise, so lawmakers would have to act before the new legislative session starts in January or else have to wait another two years.
The current lawmaker base salary is $79,500.
The legislature could return on Dec. 15 if a deal is struck this week to make it happen. After that, many lawmakers will be away for the holidays.
But one source familiar with the talks said time has pretty much run out.
“There have been no meaningful discussions and given the timetable, with legislators headed to Florida, it is too late,” the source said.