A Brooklyn Democrat is trying to drum up City Council support for a controversial state bill requiring police officers to buy personal liability insurance in case of lawsuits — a move critics say is a veiled attempt to “Defund the Police.”
Councilwoman Nantasha Williams urged other council members this week to back the state legislation, claiming it would save local governments a fortune.
“By shifting the financial responsibility for lawsuit payouts to insurance companies and the officers themselves, local governments can save millions in taxpayer dollars,” Williams wrote in an Aug. 7 letter to her fellow council members.
“Additionally, this measure would incentivize improved police conduct, fostering greater accountability within the force,” Williams contended, noting she plans to introduce a City Council resolution Wednesday calling on state legislators to pass the bill.
The bill was originally introduced in 2020 by Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman (D-Queens) and then-Sen. Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx), following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota that spurred nationwide riots and now-infamous calls to defund police.
It stalled during that year’s legislative session but was re-introduced this year by Hyndman, with Bronx Democrat Nathalia Fernandez replacing Biaggi on the Senate version of the legislation.
The proposed resolution to back the state bill is already getting some pushback in the Big Apple from the Police Benevolent Association, and both conservative and moderate members of the mostly lefty council.
“This bill is an attempt to ‘Defund the Police’ in disguise,” PBA President Patrick Hendry told The Post.
“In our current environment, police officers already face significant civil and criminal liability for simply doing our jobs. The city frequently decides to settle frivolous suits rather than litigating them. Under this bill, those settlements would hit cops in the pocket.”
“Requiring already underpaid cops to pay for liability insurance will chase away recruits and drive even more experienced cops towards the exits,” Hendry added. “If the City Council really cared about saving money, it would demand that the city start fighting suits against cops instead of settling.”
Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) called the measure “an affront to collective bargaining agreements,” adding such changes “must be done at the negotiating table because no cop should have to pay for their own insurance.”
“On the flipside, maybe private insurance carriers will stop settling on payouts to morons who injure themselves rioting, protesting and assaulting police officers. That is the real problem,” added Borelli.
Williams in her letter cited an April report released by Comptroller Brad Lander, an anti-cop socialist running for mayor, showing lawsuits against NYPD cops increased 50% from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023. The report also said settlement and judgement payouts during the same period rose 12%, from $239.1 million to $266.7 million.
“I believe this policy presents a practical and fiscally responsible solution to the escalating costs associated with police misconduct,” she said.
The NYPD declined to comment.
