NYC Council Introduction 796

intro.nyc/0796-2026 2026-2029 Legislative Session
Regulating the police department’s response to first amendment events.
Status: Committee Committee on Public Safety
Sponsored by Chi A. Ossé
Introduced: March 26, 2026

This bill would regulate the Police Department’s response to public gathering at which individuals are expressing rights protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 8 of the New York State Constitution. Specifically, the bill would prohibit the deployment the Police Department’s Strategic Response Group to such events, and generally prohibit the Strategic Response Group from being used for crowd control purposes. Additionally, the bill would prohibited the Police Department from using certain police tactics when responding to first amendment events, or for the purpose of conducting crowd control. Finally, the bill would require the Police Department to publish a quarterly report on officer deployment in response to first amendment events.