AG Schneiderman requests power to probe police brutality cases
By Carl CampanileDecember 8, 2014
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman requested Monday that Gov. Andrew Cuomo grant him the temporary authority to investigate and potentially prosecute alleged police brutality cases that result in the death of an unarmed suspect.
Schneiderman said he would handle future cases — not the current case involving Staten Island resident Eric Garner, an unarmed man who was killed after Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold while Garner was resisting arrest.
Schneiderman said Cuomo has the power as governor to issue an executive order making the AG a special prosecutor in such cases — pending legislation expected to be taken up next year to address the issue.
“In New York, and across the country, the promise of equal justice under law has been eroded by a series of tragedies involving the death of unarmed persons as a result of the use of force by law enforcement officers.
Many of these tragedies involve unarmed persons of color.
All too often, the families of the victims and the members of their communities are left with the belief that our criminal justice system has both unjustly targeted and inexplicably failed them,” Schneiderman said in a letter to Cuomo.
“This crisis of confidence is long in the making and has deep roots. But it is not a problem without a solution. A common thread in many of these cases is the belief of the victim’s family and others that the investigation of the death, and the decision whether to prosecute, have been improperly and unfairly influenced by the close working relationship between the county District Attorney, and the police officers he or she works with and depends on every day. It is understandable that many New Yorkers feel that it is unfair to charge a local District Attorney with the task of investigating and prosecuting those officers when they are accused of a serious crime committed in the course of their duties.”
Schneiderman, the state’s chief law enforcement officer, claimed that he’s not besmirching local prosecutors. He said the “overwhelming majority” are capable of pursuing justice in every case.
“The question is whether there is public confidence that justice has been served, especially in cases where homicide or other serious charges against the accused officer are not pursued or are dismissed prior to a trial by jury,” he said in the Cuomo letter.
Pantaleo was cleared of committing any crime in Garner’s death by a Staten Island grand jury last week. But the feds are now investigating the case.
Schneiderman requested that Cuomo give him the authority to investigate alleged police brutality cases on an interim basis — until the governor and the Legislature pass a law to address the issue.
http://nypost.com/2014/12/08/ag-schneiderman-requests-power-to-probe-police-brutality-cases/
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