In 2008, Cariol Horne, an officer with the Buffalo Police Department at the time, was walking an already handcuffed man back to her patrol car with another officer, Gregory Kwiatkowski.

According to Horne, Kwiatkowski placed the already handcuffed man in a chokehold, prompting Horne to step in and intervene. However, after that, she was fired for "interfering with the arrest."

A bill just recently introduced by Assemblywoman Pat Fahy is working to protect officers who either step in or report misconduct.

"We have to make sure that internally, when officers step up to address misconduct within their own ranks, that they themselves do not suffer any retaliation," Assemblywoman Fahy explained.

Right now, if an officer does try to interfere with what they believe could be a dangerous or unethical situation, they are at risk of being suspended or fired. This does not apply for all officers or departments. 

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple sent a letter recently to the Albany County Legislature saying that "any member observing another member using force that they believe to be beyond that which is reasonable, has a duty to intercede to prevent the use of unreasonable force."

But this bill introduced by Assemblywoman Fahy would give officers this security and shield them from any criminal or civil liability if they take action against police misconduct.

"It’s all about moving that needle, and I think we’ve taken a moment, we have seized this moment, to make long-overdue reforms," Fahy explained. 

Lawmakers just wrapped up voting on about a dozen police reform bills and have headed back to their districts. But Assemblywoman Fahy says she believes this bill could still be taken up this summer.