N.Y. General Municipal Law § 50-c: Liability for negligent operation of certain vehicles in the performance of duty by police officers and paid firefighters

§ 50-c. Liability for negligent operation of certain vehicles in the

performance of duty by police officers and paid firefighters. 1. Every

city, town, village and fire district, notwithstanding any inconsistent

provision of law, general, special or local or the limitation contained

in the provisions of any city charter, shall be liable for, and shall

assume the liability to the extent that it shall save harmless any duly

appointed police officers of the municipality or any duly appointed paid

firefighters of the municipality or fire district for, the negligence of

such appointee in the operation of a vehicle upon the public streets or

highways of the municipality or fire district in the discharge of a

statutory duty imposed upon such appointee or municipality or fire

district, provided the appointee at the time of the accident, injury or

damages complained of, was acting in the performance of his or her

duties and within the scope of his or her employment.

A police officer of a municipality or a paid firefighter of a

municipality or fire district, although excused from official duty at

the time, for the purposes of this section, shall be deemed to be acting

in the discharge of duty when engaged in the immediate and actual

performance of a public duty imposed by law and such public duty

performed was for the benefit of all the citizens of the community and

the municipality or fire district derived no special benefit in its

corporate capacity.

No action or special proceeding instituted pursuant to the provisions

of this section or section fifty-b of this article, shall be prosecuted

or maintained against the municipality, fire district or appointee,

unless notice of claim shall have been made and served in compliance

with section fifty-e of this article. Every such action shall be

commenced pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-i of this article.

2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the city of New

York.