By Ted Phillips
Newsday
NEW YORK — New York State and New York City police officers will soon be required to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation training under legislation signed into law Sunday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The new state law requires all state and New York City police officer candidates to complete the training before graduation from the police academy, and training must be repeated every two years. The law goes into effect in 60 days.
“This common-sense law will give law enforcement the training and the tools that will help save lives,” Cuomo said in a news release. “CPR is a critical skill and by requiring law enforcement candidates and officers to become certified, we can create a safer New York for all.”
The law’s enactment follows years of advocacy by the parents of Briana Ojeda, an 11-year-old Brooklyn girl who died of an asthma attack on the way to the hospital in 2010. Ojeda’s mother drove her daughter to the hospital from the Carroll Gardens playground where the medical emergency happened, but was stopped by a police officer on the way. The police officer didn’t know how to administer CPR and the girl died shortly after arriving at the hospital, according to the news release and media accounts.
After her death, Ojeda’s parents, Michael and Carmen Ojeda, sued the city and the police officer, but a state judge dismissed the case in part because police weren’t required to know CPR, according to media accounts of the trial. Her parents pushed for the law first introduced by Assemb. Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) in 2011.
CPR is a medical technique administered through chest compressions and breaths in cardiac and breathing emergencies.
“By requiring NYPD and State Troopers to get certified and recertified in CPR every two years, we help make New York more prepared for life-threatening situations that may arise,” Ortiz said in a news release.
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