ALBANY, NY — Republicans in the NYS Assembly have proposed strong measures in the wake of last week’s fatal shooting of Jonathan Diller, a New York Police Department officer killed during a routine traffic stop last week.

The Republicans’ proposal includes the following:

• Anyone charged with illegal firearm use or possession will be automatically locked up.
• Judges must consider community safety and flight risk, not just the defendant’s likelihood of returning to court.
• Life without parole will be mandatory for those convicted of the first- or second-degree murder of law enforcement officers or first responders.
• Reinstate the death penalty for the intentional killing of law enforcement and first responders.
• Require a unanimous vote among parole board commissioners for early release, with legislative power to remove commissioners.
• Life imprisonment without parole will be mandatory for those with two prior violent felony convictions upon a subsequent violent felony offense.
• Add any misdemeanor or felony involving guns to the list of offenses that authorize a judge to fix bail or lock up a defendant.

The suspect in the Diller case was charged with first-degree murder, Guy Rivera, has a long criminal history with 21 arrests, including nine felonies. The driver of the vehicle, Lindy Jones, who was also arrested in the incident, has 14 prior arrests, including one for attempted murder in which he was charged with shooting a man three times.

“New Yorkers have had to put up with dangerousness and loose rulings around criminal activity for long enough,” said Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark). “It’s time this state takes accountability for the failings of bail reform and the numerous other lax criminal policies and makes a change for the better. I sincerely hope my colleagues consider my bill, which would allow a sentence of life imprisonment for frequent repeat offenders and consider those of my other colleagues whose bills are in this package. We deserve a safer, more secure New York to call home.”