Nassau lawmakers voting on a proposal which would allow cops to sue protesters

Nassau lawmakers voting on a proposal which would allow cops to sue protesters

FILE - This photo from Tuesday April 20, 2021, shows Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder as he speaks in West Hempstead, N.Y. Ryder said Friday, June 18, he won't resign over comments to Newsday blaming the lack of diversity in his police department on Black and Hispanic "broken homes." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — Lawmakers in a suburban New York county are set to vote Monday on a proposal that would allow police officers to sue protesters and collect financial damages. Newsday reports that the bill being considered by the Nassau County Legislature would make police officers and other first responders a protected class under the county’s Human Rights Law, which currently bars discrimination based on race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. Civil rights activists say the bill is payback for demonstrations after the police killing of George Floyd last year in Minneapolis. No other professions are protected under the Human Rights Law.

 

Photo: FILE – This photo from Tuesday April 20, 2021, shows Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder as he speaks in West Hempstead, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)