New York Senate Bill S00108

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/8/25
• Refer: 1/8/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Establishes the crime of failure to retreat when a person who is within twenty-five feet of a police officer or peace officer engaged in the performance of their duties and the police officer or peace officer orders such person to halt or retreat and the person fails to do so immediately; requires the posting of bail.

Summary

This bill creates a new crime called “failure to retreat” in the Penal Law. A person would commit the offense if they are within 25 feet of a police officer or peace officer who is performing official duties, are ordered to halt or retreat, and do not do so immediately. The bill includes limited exceptions for people with a physical disability or injury that would be worsened by retreating, and for situations where a physical barrier makes retreat impossible. The offense would be classified as a class D felony. In addition to creating the new crime, the bill amends the Criminal Procedure Law to make failure to retreat a bail-eligible offense. Specifically, it adds the new offense to existing provisions governing when a court may order bail or remand for certain repeat or serious offenses. The bill would take effect 30 days after becoming law.

Impact

The bill would add a new felony offense to New York’s Penal Law and would also expand the list of offenses that can trigger bail under several Criminal Procedure Law sections. As a result, people charged with failure to retreat could face felony prosecution and be subject to pretrial detention or bail decisions under the state’s existing bail framework. The bill would affect individuals interacting with police or peace officers, as well as courts and prosecutors applying arrest, arraignment, and bail rules.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no documented debate or recorded legislative sentiment in the materials supplied. Based on the bill’s sponsors and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a public-safety and law-enforcement support bill. The absence of recorded votes or hearing testimony means broader support or opposition cannot be assessed from the provided record.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the bill’s creation of a new felony offense based on a person’s failure to comply with a police or peace officer’s order to retreat within a defined distance. Supporters would likely view it as a tool to protect officers and improve compliance during police encounters, while critics may see it as overly broad, potentially vague, and punitive toward ordinary bystanders or people who may not be able to move quickly. The bill’s inclusion of the offense in bail-eligible categories is also likely to be controversial because it could increase pretrial detention for people charged under the new law.