logo
New York legislators vote to preserve media access to encrypted police radio communications

New York legislators vote to preserve media access to encrypted police radio communications

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state lawmakers have passed a bill to preserve media access to police radio feeds as law enforcement agencies increasingly encrypt their communications.
The proposal, which was approved Thursday, would require police departments to grant journalists and emergency services organizations access to their encrypted radio communications.
The bill allows for exemptions of information deemed 'sensitive.' The state will need to come up with exact rules on how access will work under the proposal.
The measure is a victory for media organizations whose reporters and photographers often tune in to police radio chatter and then zip over to crime scenes or other big happenings in search of stories.
'Preserving access to police radio is critical for a free press and to preserve the freedoms and protections afforded by the public availability of this information,' said Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, a Democrat sponsor of the legislation.
The New York Police Department said encrypting radio feeds is meant to protect officers and victims.
'Encrypting police radio communications is necessary for both the safety of law enforcement, as well as to protect the privacy interests of victims and witnesses,' the department said in a written statement. 'Requiring the NYPD to provide real-time access could jeopardize officer safety and victim privacy.'
The proposal now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Her office did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NYC council signs off on bid to grant lifetime pensions for slain NYPD cop's kids: ‘Honoring her today'
NYC council signs off on bid to grant lifetime pensions for slain NYPD cop's kids: ‘Honoring her today'

New York Post

time40 minutes ago

  • New York Post

NYC council signs off on bid to grant lifetime pensions for slain NYPD cop's kids: ‘Honoring her today'

The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to back a proposed tweak in state law that will allow the children of a slain NYPD cop to collect her pension — the final hurdle for the bill to go to a vote in Albany. 'My mom embodied the American dream,' said Genesis Villella, who adopted her two younger siblings after her mom, Miosotis Familia, was gunned down execution-style in the Bronx in 2017. 'For years, the city that she grew up in, loved and protected, didn't love her back,' Villella, 28, said before the vote. 'In fact, they tried to erase her and me, but I want to make it known that my mom is a hero and will always be the hero of my lifetime and today, that erasure and discrimination ended.' 5 Genesis Villella, 28, has been fighting for her younger siblings to receive their cop mom's death benefits for eight years. Paul Martinka The family's dilemma stemmed from an overlooked and outdated state law that awards lifetime pensions to the spouses and parents of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty — but makes no mention of their children, a significant oversight for single parents like Familia. The state proposal would amend the law so that it 'provides for children who were under the age of 25 when the death of the member occurred to receive an accidental death benefit for their lifetimes.' But before legislators in Albany can consider the move, New York City officials have to sign off because state law requires support from the local entity affected by the change. 5 Genesis Villella, center, with her younger twin siblings, Peter and Delilah, are the children of slain Bronx cop Miosotis Familia. Matthew McDermott 5 City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams before the unanimous vote to support death benefits for a slain cop's kids. Paul Martinka 'Young people like Genesis shouldn't have to take on the impossible and then be told they're invisible by the law,' Council Majority Leader Amanda Farias (D-Bronx) said during a press briefing. 'So, what we've done here was actually replicate what's already within the pension system for spouses and other family members of our officers for her children,' Farias said. 'And so this will, going forward, help other families in the NYPD.' For Villella, Wednesday's vote brings her one step closer to what has been a grueling fight. 'When I was 17, my mom made me promise her that I would take care of my brother and sister if anything were to happen because of the job,' she said. 'Because there was a target on her back and every other cop's back for years. 'I kept my promise to my mom by adopting and raising my brother and sister, Peter and Delilah, and raising them on my own as a mom and a dad when I was barely an adult.' 5 Miosotis Familia, a single mom, was on duty on July 5, 2017, when a crazed gunman shot the NYPD veteran dead. Matthew McDermott Villella was a young college student when her mom, a 12-year department veteran, was sitting in a mobile command post on July 5, 2017, when deranged gunman Alexander Bonds walked up and shot her. Bonds was later shot dead by police. The tragedy forced Villella to abandon school and focus on raising her twin siblings — both of whom are now enrolled at Marist College, she said. Villella struggled financially to make ends meet because under the existing law, her brother and sister only qualified for benefits until they turned 21. Villella herself would have earned benefits until she turned 23 had she stayed in college, but she had to drop out to care for her younger siblings. 5 Genesis Villella, center, adopted her younger twin siblings, Peter and Delilah, after their cop mom was shot dead. Villella Family Handout After Wednesday's council vote, she is one step away from fulfilling her promise to her mom. 'Now the orphaned children who had no one are going to be receiving the death benefits for the rest of our lifetimes, just like the surviving spouses and the surviving parents,' she said. 'Orphan children, the children who have nobody, are going to be taken care of just the way they should.'

Poll: Majority of Democrats give thumbs-down to their leaders in Congress
Poll: Majority of Democrats give thumbs-down to their leaders in Congress

Fox News

time44 minutes ago

  • Fox News

Poll: Majority of Democrats give thumbs-down to their leaders in Congress

Most Democrats disapprove of how their party's lawmakers in Congress are handling their jobs, according to a new national poll. Fifty-three percent of Democrats questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday gave their party's congressional members a thumbs-down, while 41% approved of their performance. According to the poll, conducted June 5-8, just 21% of all voters approved of the way Democrats in Congress were handing their jobs, with seven in ten disapproving. The 21% approval is the same as in Quinnipiac's February national poll, matching "an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first asked this question of registered voters in March 2009." The survey indicates 79% of GOP voters approve of the way congressional Republicans are handling their job, with 13% disapproving. Among all voters, 32% approved of how GOP congressional members were performing their duties, while just over six in ten disapproved. Overall approval for Republicans in Congress has dropped eight points since Quinnipiac's February poll, with disapproval jumping nine points. The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since November's elections, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party's base. Since President Donald Trump's return to power earlier this year, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president's sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration. And their anger is directed not only at Republicans, but at Democrats they feel aren't vocal enough in their opposition to Trump. And that's fueled a plunge in the Democratic Party's favorable ratings, which have hit historic lows in several surveys the past couple of months. The new poll from Quinnipiac also indicates a decline in Trump's approval ratings among voters nationwide. Thirty-eight percent of those questioned in the survey said they approve of the way the president is handling his duties, down three points from Quinnipiac's early April poll. Fifty-four percent in the new poll gave Trump a thumbs-down for his handling of his job as president, down one point from the April survey. Trump's approval ratings were mostly above water as he returned to the White House in late January, but his numbers soon slid underwater in many national surveys and remain in negative territory nearly five months into his second administration.

Pulse nightclub shooting survivors and family members tour building before demolition
Pulse nightclub shooting survivors and family members tour building before demolition

CBS News

timean hour ago

  • CBS News

Pulse nightclub shooting survivors and family members tour building before demolition

Survivors and family members of the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting are touring the inside of the building for a final look before it's torn down. About 250 people accepted the city of Orlando's invitation to tour the building where Omar Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others during a Latin Night celebration at the popular LGBTQIA+ club on June 12, 2016. Mateen was killed following an hourslong standoff with police. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas would eclipse the Pulse shooting's death toll the following year. The visits, which coincide with the shooting's nine-year mark, are being done in small groups over the course of four days, with survivors and family members spending about a half hour inside, according to The Associated Press. Christine Leionen lost her only child, 32-year-old Christopher, in the shooting. Wednesday marked the first time she saw where her son was killed. "My son died on that dance floor. He was shot nine times, and he bled to death on that dance floor," she told CBS News. She said going to Pulse was "a way to try to experience his last seconds of life. I just want to feel closer to him." Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who also visited the site, said the visit "took me back nine years." "Reflecting on being in the command center on Orange Avenue as all the things are transpiring and, eventually, the shooting of the killer and then the realization of just how many people were impacted," he said, according to CBS affiliate WKMG-TV. Dyer said the people visiting included 25 of the 49 victims' families. The city of Orlando is planning to build a permanent memorial where the building currently stands. City officials approved a plan to buy the property for $2 million back in 2023, following several previous failed attempts to buy the land. Family members and some survivors had been pushing for a permanent memorial for years before the purchase. But some of the families and survivors still have questions about whether more could have been done to prevent the shooting or if police could have done more to save people. Questions also surround the ensuing investigation and the issue of whether the attack was a hate crime. "I lived that night, but it's a constant sacrifice to keep moving every day," survivor Maritza Gomez told WKMG back when the city approved the plan to buy the property. "I don't think that Pulse should be diminished. I think that an investigation should be taken care of first." and contributed to this report.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store