New York lawmakers are pushing a bill that would make throwing water on police officers a felony after a rash of such attacks took place in New York City in July.
Republican Assemblymen Mike LiPetri and Michael Reilly announced the bill this week.
The legislation would make it a Class E felony to throw or spray water or another substance against a police officer or peace officer. Violators would face up to four years in prison.
For the bill to pass, it would need to be approved by the Assembly and state Senate before being signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. Cuomo has not indicated his position on the bill.
“Hopefully my colleagues in Albany will support this legislation from both sides of the aisle. Because if that’s what they care about, the safety of our law enforcement, they will,” Reilly said.
Lawmakers, retired New York Police Department officers, and Republican President Donald Trump have blamed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for the attacks. De Blasio is frequently touring across the country while running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
He called on de Blasio to condemn the attacks at Wednesday’s debate in Detroit but the mayor did not do so.
“We now have individuals literally drenching on-duty police officers with buckets of water during routine patrol. Patrol aimed solely at protecting the quality of life in the neighborhoods they serve. This time it’s water. But what’s next? Gasoline? Acid?” LiPetri said. “We must send a strong message that such acts will not be tolerated.”
“The difference is, unlike other states and cities, New York state likes to push forward this anti-cop rhetoric and tells our law enforcement not to arrest them and our DAs frankly right now aren’t prosecuting as they should. They have to prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent,” he added.
They faced charges including of obstruction of governmental administration, criminal nuisance, criminal tampering.