New Bill Leverages Security Cameras to Fight Hit-and-Runs

(R-L) NYPD 109 Precinct Commissioner D.I. Brian Maguire, Council Member Leroy Comrie, Council Member Peter Koo, and Council Member Rosie Mendez at a press conference May 30 announcing a new bill that would require the NYPD to look at surveillance camera footage in the event of a hit-and-run. (Aric Chen/NTD Television)

NEW YORK—Drivers guilty of hit-and-runs won’t be able to run long if new legislation introduced by Queens-based council members goes through. The bill will require the NYPD to pick up footage from all nearby surveillance cameras each time a hit-and-run is reported.

Council members Leroy Comrie, Peter Koo, and Rosie Mendez discussed the new legislation on May 30 in Flushing, Queens. They plan to introduce a bill during the next council meeting. The legislation was spurred by the death of Dante Domingez, who was killed in a hit-and-run on November 2, 2012. His family members joined the Thursday press conference, held at 41st Avenue and Union Street, where Domingez was killed.

“We want to make sure this kind of tragedy never happens again,” Comrie said. 

One of the key points of the legislation will be a new mandate that the NYPD collects all videos from nearby surveillance cameras when a hit-and-run occurs. They also hope to create a tax credit for anyone who installs surveillance cameras on their property.

“What happened to Dante Domingez shouldn’t happen to anyone, where we’ve had an accident where we cannot get all the records or not all of the cameras were looked at within a three-block area,” Comrie said.

Family members of Domingez believe the police did not do enough to investigate his death. Thus, the new legislation will require the NYPD to report serious hit-and-runs to the city council annually, and tell what they did to find the drivers who were responsible.

There is also a resolution calling for red light cameras to be installed at more than 150 intersections around the city.

Additional reporting by NTD Television.