New Jersey Adopts New Policy For Grand Juries In Police-Related Death Cases
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner has raised questions about restoring public trust in the grand jury process.
Now, as WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, New Jersey has a new policy for police-related deaths.
One of the goals of the policy is to eliminate conflicts of interests.
"It requires that where a municipal officer is being investigated, that municipal police department must be walled off from the investigation," state Attorney General John Hoffman said.
Hoffman said the county prosecutor's office would then take over. If there is no indictment, the information would be provided to the public.
"We're going to maintain grand jury secrecy, and the county prosecutors are responsible for putting together information then public statement," he said.
Hoffman added that public trust is critical.