NY Attorney General Schneiderman Asks Cuomo To Probe Deaths By Police
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York state's attorney general has asked the governor to authorize his office to investigate deaths at the hands of police following the public outcry over the killing of an unarmed Staten Island man.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, in a letter Monday to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said that authority exists under New York law, has been used in the past, and is needed now because of the "crisis of confidence'' in law enforcement.
"It is time to acknowledge that the public has lost confidence in this part of our criminal justice system," Schneiderman said to reporters, including 1010 WINS' Al Jones.
The attorney general said for now, he is the only person who could take over, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported.
"The case law in New York is such that even a district attorney who wanted to avoid the appearance of impropriety cannot do it," he said. "The only thing that can happen now is that the governor can, in any case, appoint me and my office."
Schneiderman's authority would apply to cases after the executive order is signed and last until the state Legislature acts to permanently address the issue.
It wouldn't apply to the case of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, who died in July after police officers attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island.
In cellphone video of the incident, Officer Daniel Pantaleo is seen placing his arm around Garner's neck in an apparent chokehold and then taking him to the ground after Garner refuses to be handcuffed.
Garner is heard saying repeatedly, "I can't breathe!" He died a short time later.
The New York City Medical Examiner's office ruled Garner's death a homicide, caused by the officer's apparent chokehold as well as chest and neck compressions and prone positioning "during physical restraint by police."
Federal authorities are now investigating that case after State Island District Attorney Dan Donovan investigated and a grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo.
The grand jury's decision — coming a little more than a week after another grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri declined to an indict a police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed 18-year-old man — has sparked days of protests nationwide.
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"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,'' Schneiderman wrote, noting the victims are often minorities. "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.''
More than two dozen city and state law and policy makers offered public support for the proposal.
"It is imperative that a separate prosecutor, with no connection to the local police department, pursue police misconduct cases,'' said the city's public advocate Letitia James who has long called for independent prosecutions. "We need to remove the conflict of interest. We need to remove the appearance of bias.''
Donovan's office declined to comment.
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, who said he expects to take a recent deadly police shooting of an unarmed man in a public housing stairwell to a grand jury, said he is "adamantly opposed" to Schneiderman's request.
"No one is more committed to ensuring equal justice under the law than I am," he said in a statement. "Moreover, acts of police brutality are not only crimes against the individual victim but also are attacks on the communities in which they occur. Therefore, local prosecutors who are elected to enforce the laws in those communities should not be robbed of their ability to faithfully and fairly do so in cases where police officers shoot, kill or injure someone unjustly."
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said his office has prosecuted several police officers and the issue should be studied carefully with district attorneys' input.
Those cases included four city police officers indicted for murder for shooting unarmed Amadou Diallo 19 times in the vestibule of his apartment in 1999. An Albany jury later acquitted them.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance told "Meet the Press'' on Sunday that he's open to discussing a program of special prosecutors, that police and local prosecutors need to be collaborative but not cozy, and district attorneys have a responsibility to investigate and where appropriate prosecute police.
President of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, said he sees no reason why Schneiderman's office needs to investigate police-involved deaths.
"There is absolutely no reason to alter the existing system because if the rule of law and rule of evidence as they stand in the State of New York are followed dispassionately and honestly, then the outcome will be right and just regardless of what office handles a case," Lynch said.
The attorney general, whose office needs referrals from the governor or other agencies to prosecute cases, said many people believe the close working relationships between police and local prosecutors influences how vigorously cases are pursued. Schneiderman said he believes "the overwhelming majority'' are capable and have an ethical duty to see justice is done.
"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 wrote.
He told reporters Monday that the most troubling words came from Garner's widow after the grand jury decision: "Oh my God. Are you serious?''
Schneiderman noted that legislation has been introduced to authorize his office to investigate and prosecute any crime allegedly committed by police or in cases where a judge finds a county prosecutor disqualified.
He requested an immediate order from Cuomo to investigate and present grand jury evidence in any death of an unarmed person by police.
"I would further respectfully request that, to avoid the possibility of compromising any local, state or federal investigations already in progress, the order apply only to incidents occurring on or after the date the order is signed.''
Gov. Cuomo's office told WCBS 880 it's reviewing the proposal.
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