Schneiderman’s appointment is intended to eliminate the “perceived conflict” that arises when district attorneys – who rely on their police department to help them prosecute cases – are tasked with charging local cops.
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Flanked by police reform advocates and relatives of unarmed New Yorkers who died at the hands of officers, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a long-awaited executive order Wednesday that gives the state attorney general’s office authority to investigate cases in which an officer kills an unarmed civilian.
After the deaths of their loved ones, Malcolm said there was no way family members could not work for change.
“When a community doesn’t have trust for the fairness of the criminal justice system it creates anarchy and we have had a series of incidents in New York that have raised that question repeatedly”, said Cuomo. “It’s unfortunate that during these times rules have to be made or changed based on our chosen profession as law enforcement officers”. The governor, a Democrat, failed to reach an agreement with legislators in the Republican-controlled Senate before the legislative session ended.
Acting Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Master, through a spokesman, declined to comment on the governor’s executive order. “Unfortunately wage theft is a crime that is running rampart throughout the construction industry”, said Robert Bonanza, Business Manager of the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York. It was opposed by New York’s district attorneys, who, through a spokesman, said, “We certainly don’t see any reason why the 62 elected attorneys should have their responsibility taken from them”.
Mollen, who was in Saratoga Springs for the District Attorneys Association’s summer conference, did not return a phone call or email Thursday.
Finally, Schneiderman’s role will only exist for as long as Cuomo wants it to. He is expected to appoint one or more prosecutors to a new team that would focus on cases involving police killings, which he said would investigate “thoroughly and impartially”.
Bragg is the executive deputy attorney general, a veteran prosecutor and ex- assistant US attorney.
The team also includes Paul Clyne, a ex- Albany County district attorney, and three other staffers who have prosecutorial experience.
Critics have said local prosecutors can not properly investigate or prosecute such cases due to their close relationship with police.
“The most basic right as a worker is to be paid for your labor”, Schneiderman said in a NY Daily News article.
Cuomo says if a civilian is killed and there’s questions about whether or not they were armed and risky, the AG could examine those cases, too, at his discretion. A grand jury decided not to indict the officers who were involved in the incident. Haste’s first indictment was thrown out on a technicality when the Bronx District Attorney’s Office incorrectly instructed the grand jury.
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Congratulations to the governor on taking this important step.
