Proposed law would require Suffolk County businesses to turn over security footage to aid police investigations
The bill comes months after an employee at a CVS in Lindenhurst was fatally stabbed in a botched robbery, where Suffolk County police accused the business of delaying turning over critical evidence, an accusation the company denied.
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Today, the Suffolk County legislature will consider a bill that, if approved, would require most businesses in the county to turn over security footage within 24 hours to help with police investigations.
The bill would apply to businesses with 10 or more employees that are open to the public and operate a fixed physical location video surveillance system.
Any business where a felony occurs on the premises would be required to preserve all footage and hand it over to the police within 1 day if requested as part of an investigation. Applicable footage would include video showing the incident, the suspects, the victims and any entry or exits to the business, according to the bill.
Businesses would be exempt if providing the video violates state or federal law or if the footage is subject to a court order restricting its disclosure.
Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg sponsors the bill.
“The bill is designed to help when serious infractions happen in and around our businesses, so that our law enforcement is not stuck waiting for video footage hours upon hours," he said.
Businesses that do not comply would face a $1,000 for the first offense and a $2,500 fine for every violation after that.
The proposal comes less than five months after an employee was killed during a botched robbery at the CVS on East Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst last Christmas.
Edeedson 'Joshy' Cine Jr., 23, was fatally stabbed and Suffolk County police publicly accused the company of delaying in turning over its security camera footage to aid in the investigation.
At that time, a CVS spokesperson denied the police's accusations and said they cooperated with Suffolk police right away. The spokesperson sent News 12 timestamped photos of officers reviewing the footage on site and said CVS extracted and uploaded multiple hours of video from each of the 30 cameras in the store overnight.
Police eventually arrested Lindenhurst resident John Pilaccio, who pleaded not guilty to first degree murder.
Committees in both the state senate and assembly are considering a similar bill introduced by State Senator Monica Martinez earlier this year called the "Edeedson 'Joshy' Cine Jr. Transparency Act," which comes with heavier fines of up to $100,000.
Tonight's public hearing will take place at the legislative building in Riverhead, starting at 6 p.m.
