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Special prosecutor may be coming to Brooklyn

Governor Proposes ‘Independent Monitor’ For Police Misconduct Cases

January 23, 2015 By Charisma L. Troiano, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson. AP photo
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In the State of the State address Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a number of proposed reforms to the criminal justice system in an effort to rebuild trust and confidence in a system that has been under scrutiny following the deaths of unarmed black men in Staten Island and Brooklyn. The multi-tiered reform overhaul encompasses improvements to the grand jury system including the appointment of an independent monitor for local police brutality cases. 

“The promise of equal justice is a New York promise, and it is an American promise,” Cuomo said in his address at the state capital. “We are currently in the midst of a national problem where people are questioning our justice system.” 

Cuomo’s seven-point “fairness for all” program will assign an independent monitor to review cases where a local county grand jury declines an indictment against police officers accused of misconduct or excessive force. This effort is in direct response to the Staten Island grand jury that returned no true bill on an indictment against NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man suspected of selling illegal, loose cigarettes. 

In Brooklyn, a grand jury is pending for NYPD Officer Peter Liang who shot and killed Akai Gurley, an unarmed bystander, during a patrol of the stairwells of the Louis Pink housing complex in East New York. Liang, a probationary officer, asserts that the shooting was an accident and that the stairwell was darkened due to a broken lightbulb. 

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“Underlying the American dream of economic opportunity is a foundational belief and trust on our justice system. But that belief and trust has been questioned, presenting a problem in both perception and reality,” Cuomo said. 

As reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, nationwide statistics show that local grand juries are less likely to return an indictment against police officers for charges of excessive force — even when the overuse of force leads to a suspect’s death.  

A study conducted by the Bowling Green State University in Ohio found that, on average, four officers are indicted in the United States every year for gun-related killings. And the last time an officer in New York was brought up on criminal charges of police brutality was in 2008. 
This pattern is conventionally explained as the result of a close working relationship and inherent conflict of interest that may exist between local district attorneys and police officers they are charged to investigate. In a December 2014 letter, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, suggested that he be assigned as special prosecutor to remove the appearance of conflict or impropriety. “This crisis of confidence is long in the making and has deep roots,” the A.G. wrote, citing the “close working relationship between the county district attorney and the police officers he or she works with,” as the “common thread” in this identified crisis. 

Cuomo’s proposal would assign an independent monitor who would have the ability to appoint a special prosecutor in such cases. 

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson has spoken out against the need for a special prosecutor, saying, “those who have called for a special prosecutor to handle this case, I respectfully disagree.”  

“[I] was elected by the people of Brooklyn to do this job without fear or favor, and that is exactly what I intend to do,” Thompson reminded critics. 

If Cuomo’s proposal is instituted, three Brooklyn cases could be under the supervision of a governor-appointed prosecutor or monitor. 

In November, Thompson announced his decision to bring criminal charges against two NYPD officers accused of beating an unarmed teenager with a service weapon. The following month, he advised that a grand jury would be impaneled in the Gurley shooting case. Also in December, the New York Daily News reported that Thompson may request a grand jury to deliberate charges against an officer accused of beating an unarmed teenager for jumping a subway turnstile. 

Cuomo’s extensive reform package would also require district attorneys to release grand jury reports to the public, alleviating the need to petition a judge to open the grand jury records — which, by law, are held under secrecy. The District Attorneys Association of the State of New York has made clear its demand to keep grand jury records secret, noting that the system would be “irreparably harm[ed]” if disclosure was allowed.

Thompson has not made any public comments regarding his opinion on grand jury secrecy, providing a blanket approval for Cuomo’s “fairness for all” program. 

“I applaud the governor for his leadership in proposing reforms to our criminal justice system,” Thompson said in a statement released Wednesday. “People must have confidence in the justice system, and the governor’s proposals should help restore that confidence.” 

Other Brooklyn pols expressed support for Cuomo’s vision. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams expressed his appreciation for the “proposals [Gov. Cuomo] has made, such as … reforming our criminal justice system.” He called the measures “long overdue.” 

However, some pols, like Councilmember Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn), noted concern that Cuomo’s proposals did not reach far enough.

Governor Cuomo…provid[ed] a seven-point plan, but failed to focus on the need to review police culture and officer accountability. Officers must always be held accountable, even in non-fatal cases,” Williams said in a statement.


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