[Amended by L. 1948, c. 569; 2-24-1975 by L.L. No. 1-1975; 2-24-1975 by L.L. No.
3-1975; 4-28-1975 by L.L. No. 4-1975; 9-1-1979 by L.L. No.
1-1979; 3-3-1980 by L.L. No. 2-1980; 9-14-1987 by L.L. No.
4-1987; 3-23-1992 by L.L. No. 1-1992; 7-12-2021 by L.L. No. 3-2021]
There is hereby created a Department of Police for the City,
which shall consist of a Police Commissioner, Police Chief, and such
other ranks and members within the Department as the City Manager,
in consultation with the Police Commissioner, may hereafter create
with the approval of the Council and consistent with the New York
State Civil Service Law.
The Police Commissioner shall be responsible for the overall
operation, supervision, and administration of the Police Department
and its officers in accordance with the City Charter. It shall be
the duty of the Police Commissioner to ensure that the Police Department
preserves peace and good order; enforces the laws, ordinances, rules,
regulations of the City of Newburgh, New York State; and performs
other duties as the City Council may prescribe by ordinance or local
law. The Police Commissioner shall be appointed by the City Manager
and shall serve at the pleasure of the City Manager. The Police Commissioner
shall be responsible for the City jail, shall have custody of all
persons incarcerated therein, and shall keep such records and make
such reports concerning the activities of the Department as may be
required by statute or by the City Council. She or he shall have authority
to administer oaths and take evidence, affidavits and acknowledgments
in all matters as proceedings pertaining to the Police Department.
The Chief of Police shall be appointed by the City Manager and
shall have immediate direction and control of the Police Department,
subject to the policies, rules, regulations and orders established
by the City Manager and Police Commissioner.
A.
No person shall be appointed to membership in the Police Department
or continue to hold membership therein who is not a citizen of good
moral character or who has ever been convicted of a felony or who
cannot understandingly read and write the English language.
B.
The City Manager shall make all appointments, promotions and changes
of status of the officers and members of the Police Department in
accordance with the provisions of the New York State Civil Service
Law, except as otherwise herein provided. In making promotions, seniority
and meritorious service in the Department, as well as superior capacity,
as shown by competitive examination or otherwise, shall be taken into
account. Individual acts of bravery may be treated as acts of meritorious
service, and the relative weight therefor shall be fixed by the Municipal
Civil Service Commission.
C.
No member of the Police Department shall hold office or be employed
in any other department of the City government.
A.
Police officers of the City of Newburgh shall have all the powers,
authority, and duties conferred on them by the laws of the State of
New York. It shall be the duty of the members of the Police Department
to see to the enforcement of all of the ordinances of the City, state
and federal laws and all statutes applicable therein and to preserve
order and prevent infractions of the law and arrest violators thereof.
B.
No member of the Police Department shall serve any process except
by order of the Police Commissioner or his designated representative.
C.
Every
member of the Police Department shall appear as a witness whenever
this is necessary in a prosecution for a violation of an ordinance
or of any state or federal law. No such member shall retain any witness
fee for service as witness in any action or suit to which the City
is a party; any fees paid for such services shall be turned over to
the Police Chief, who shall deposit the same with the City Comptroller.
D.
The members
of the Police Department shall report violations of law and ordinances
coming to their knowledge in any way under regulations to be prescribed
by the Police Commissioner or his designee. Police officers shall
also have in every other part of the state in criminal matters all
the powers of constables; and any warrant for search or arrest issued
by any magistrate of the state may be executed by them in any part
of the state according to the tenor thereof as provided in the Criminal
Procedure Law. They shall possess such other powers and perform such
other duties as may be provided by law or ordinance of the Council.
It shall be the duty of all members of the Police Department
to conduct themselves in a proper and law abiding manner at all times
and to avoid the use of unnecessary force. All members of the Department
shall obey the orders and directions of their superior and any rules,
regulations and general orders promulgated by the Police Commissioner.
The organizational structure of the Police Department shall
be determined by the City Manager and shall be as promulgated in the
rules and regulations of the Police Department. The City Manager may
make or prescribe such rules and regulations, including general orders,
as he shall deem advisable, and they shall be binding on all members
of the Department. Such rules, regulations and general orders may
cover, besides the conduct of the members, uniforms and equipment
to be worn or carried, hours of service, vacations and all other similar
matters necessary or desirable for the discipline and efficiency of
the Department.
A.
Pursuant
to the New York State Defense Emergency Act,[1] any person of good character, having duties which require
it, may be appointed an auxiliary police officer by the City Manager,
provided that, except upon authorization by the Council, no such auxiliary
officer shall be entitled to any compensation from the City, nor shall
such auxiliary police officer be considered an employee of the City
by reason of such appointment.
[1]
Editor's Note: See the Unconsolidated Laws § 9101
et seq.
B.
Auxiliary
police officers shall obey all rules of the Police Department applicable
to them and may be deprived of their appointment by the City Manager
at any time.
C.
The City
Manager or his designated representative may authorize said auxiliary
police officers to perform duty, including any defense drill or training
exercise, while armed with a loaded firearm; provided, however, that
all such officers have a valid permit to carry a firearm.
D.
The City
Manager has absolute discretion in determining which, if any, auxiliary
police officers may perform duty while armed and may withhold permission
from any auxiliary police officer at any time. Said auxiliary police
officer must undergo and satisfactorily complete a firearms training
program under the auspices of the Police Chief or his designated representative
prior to performing any duty while armed.
E.
Said auxiliary
police officers must obey all laws pertaining to the use of firearms
and deadly physical force and all rules, regulations and general orders
of the Police Department.
F.
Auxiliary
police officers of the City of Newburgh in criminal matters shall
have all the powers of peace officers under the general laws of the
state and shall also have the power to arrest any person found by
them violating any penal ordinances of the City or laws of the state
and to take such person before the proper magistrate, where such person
shall be dealt with in the same manner as if he had been arrested
upon a warrant theretofore duly issued by such magistrate. Auxiliary
police officers shall report violations of law and ordinances coming
to their knowledge in any way under regulations to be prescribed by
the Police Commissioner or his designee and shall have peace officer
status and powers only within the Newburgh City limits and only during
periods while such members are actually performing duty prescribed
or ordered by the Police Chief during an attack or defense drill or
training exercise.
The Police Commissioner shall have the custody of all lost,
abandoned or stolen property recovered in the City, except as otherwise
provided in the City Charter or the Code of the City of Newburgh.
Parking Enforcement Officers are members of the Police Department
and as such are public servants. It shall be their duty and they shall
have the power to enforce all the laws and ordinances of the City
and laws of the state pertaining to parking violations. For this purpose,
they are authorized to issue and serve legal process as defined by
the laws of the state for violations of parking laws and ordinances,
including the authority to issue and serve appearance tickets, as
defined by the Criminal Procedure Law.
All criminal process for any offense committed within the City
and all process to recover or to enforce any penalty for the violation
of any City ordinance issued out of any court or by any magistrate
within the City and every process or subpoena issued by the District
Attorney of the county in which the City is situated, relating to
any offense committed within the City, and every process, subpoena
or warrant issued by any Coroner of such county in any inquest held
in the City relative to the death of any person may be served by any
member of the Police Department.
