Following Verrazano Police Chase, Golden Demands Harsher Penalties For Fugitives
In light of this week’s high-speed police chase across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Senator Marty Golden has proposed a new law that would increase in the penalty for unlawfully fleeing from a police officer.
Suspects Anthony Mazza, 41, and Timothy Isaken, 26, fled of the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force in Old Bridge, New Jersey on Tuesday, zipping through Staten Island, leading authorities across the bridge and into Brooklyn, ramming a police cruiser in the process.
Two Port Authority officers were injured by pursuit – which ended in an unceremonious collision in Bath Beach – and it highlights a need for a harsher laws for those who unlawfully speed off, said Golden. The senator cited a similar incident that occurred in Marine Park in November (covered by our sister site Sheepshead Bites), which left 18-year-old Natalie Ferber critically
injured by a van being pursued by police. The chase also left two detectives hurt.“We have seen both high-speed and low-speed chases result in injury and death of police officers, pedestrians, and other drivers,” said Golden. “Current law for fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle is too lenient and individuals take their chances in the hopes to get away.”
The new legislation would increase the penalty for unlawfully fleeing a police officer from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony, which carries a sentence of one to four years in prison. Tougher penalties would also be implemented for those involved in incidents where a police officer or civilian were seriously injured, increasing the penalty from a Class E felony to a Class D felony, warranting up to seven years in jail.
In addition, the bill calls for an increase from a Class D felony to a Class C felony – or up to 15 years in prison – when a police chase causes the death of a police officer or a civilian.
“We must act now before anyone else gets hit during a police chase,” said Golden.