Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) attended a press conference this morning with his colleagues in the state Assembly to call for public safety measures to be included in the final state budget agreement.
Last month, NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was shot and killed in the line of duty by a suspect with 21 prior arrests during a routine traffic stop in Queens. This tragedy is a reminder of the consequences pro-criminal policies have on our law enforcement officers and all New Yorkers.
Hawley is a staunch advocate of law enforcement and has supported numerous initiatives to improve public safety and opposes the disastrous bail reform, the Clean Slate Act, Raise the Age, and other Majority-led, pro-criminal policies.
Public safety is one of the top concerns for everyday New Yorkers and it should be reflected in the state budget.
“It’s almost unbelievable how far the Majority has gone to create a criminals’ paradise in our state,” said Hawley. “We’ve essentially told people if they come to New York and break the law they can be released immediately on cashless bail, have their trial shifted in their favor through discovery reform and get their crimes wiped from their record thanks to the Clean Slate Act. Have these downstate politicians ever once considered these policies might be incentivizing crime instead of preventing it?”
“Last month we saw the news of Officer Jonathan Diller who was killed by a repeat offender over a simple traffic stop. Because of these so-called reforms, a family will have to continue on without a loving husband and father. Last year, I sponsored a proposal that would require a life sentence without the chance of parole for criminals convicted of murdering a police officer. This should be the law of the land. The Majority, however, wasted no time in making sure this initiative never saw the light of day. The Diller family deserves justice and New Yorkers deserve answers. It’s time to put our money where our mouth is and support our police officers,” Hawley concluded.
