NYC police reform bill raises concerns of Nassau police commissioner

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder has "modified" the department's protocols when it comes to officers crossing into New York City in light of the City Council's so-called "diaphragm" law.

The move comes amid mounting concern by police forces surrounding New York City over the law. The measure, which bars NYPD officers from sitting or pressing their knee on the backs of someone in a way that constricts the diaphragm, is part of the City Council version of the chokehold measure that Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law Wednesday. The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

Surrounding police agencies have considered not crossing into the city, or carefully controlling enforcement action there, according to police, union officials and copies of orders obtained by Newsday.

"Increased supervisory roles and notifications will be utilized as precautions to further protect and support our members," Ryder said in a statement Saturday. 

The statement did not explain what exactly the modifications will be, and a department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

"It greatly disturbs me that the safety of officers and prisoners are not taken into account when laws are changed and the experts in law enforcement are not consulted. The Nassau County Police Department 100% supports the men and women of the NYPD, but is concerned when we have to take police action in the confines of the City of New York," Ryder's statement said.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said Friday that any enforcement action by local cops in the city required approval of a supervisor at the division chief level.

Police in Yonkers have been ordered not to cross the border into neighboring New York City to take any enforcement action, except in the most extreme circumstances out of concern that the law may expose them to criminal prosecution, according to a department spokesman.

Lt. Dean Politopoulos, a spokesman for the Yonkers police, said that the order, signed by Commissioner John J. Mueller, covers just about all enforcement activity, including hot pursuit of suspects. Cases of extreme importance will be evaluated on an individual basis if Yonkers cops need to cross the city line, Politopoulos said.

“Despite our best effort to minimize the use of force, it remains well possible that a police officer’s knee may end up on the chest or back of a violent suspect during a scuffle or arrest, especially during a one-on-one situation,” said Mueller in a statement.

The move by Mueller came after copies of a similar order surfaced in law enforcement circles from the head of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety. That directive ordered county cops, about 400, to stay away from pursuing suspects into New York City. 

A spokesman for the Westchester public safety unit didn’t return email and telephone messages for comment Friday.  But Det. Keith Olson, president of the Affiliated Police Associations of Westchester, said late Thursday that the order had been sent out and that other departments in the county were expected to issue similar orders in the coming days.