Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Where is the Grand Jury Reforms?, Pols Escape Blame 424




On the Last Day the DOJ Moves on the Garner Grand Jury? No Go No Charges 
SOURCES: GRAND JURY HEARS ERIC GARNER CASE -- Post's Shawn Cohen, Larry Celona and Bruce Golding: "The Obama administration is scrambling to secure an indictment in the racially charged, NYPD killing of Eric Garner before President-elect Donald Trump takes office Friday and potentially scraps the case, sources told The Post. Federal prosecutors from Washington, DC, called cops in front of a Brooklyn grand jury Wednesday, and more witnesses are expected to testify Thursday, the sources said. ... Garner's mom, Gwen Carr, told The Post she's been 'really hoping that we will get some type of justice and accountability, even if it's on the last day.' 'But if it doesn't, I was still going to remain hopeful it could happen under a Trump administration, because everyone's seen the injustice done to my son,' she added." 







DA's Push Back At Schneiderman's Role As Special Police Shooting Investigator
  Thursday New York Attorney General Sets Guidelines for Inquires Into Police Killings (NYT) Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has authorized local prosecutors to investigate cases in which police officers kill unarmed civilians. * The NYPD has made nearly 33 percent fewer arrests citywide so far this year for selling untaxed cigarettes, the crime Eric Garner was arrested for during the deadly confrontation on Staten Island last summer, theJournal writes:  * Huge amounts of money get thrown around after publicized tragedies, such as the recent Garner family settlement, and no one feels comfortable objecting and questioning whether the decision is fair, WilliamO’Reilly writes in am New York: * The NY Post questions NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer’s claim that the city’s $5.9 million settlement with the Garner family is fiscally responsible. * De Blasio said he’s looking forward, not backward, on police-community relations, refusing to analyze whether he changed his tone on cops in a speech he gave on Staten Island this week. He also ducked questions about whether he talks differently about police to his 17-year-old son Dante, and avoided saying whether he thought the police had changed since the death of Eric Garner. * The NYPD has made nearly 33 percent fewer arrests citywide so far this year for selling untaxed cigarettes – the crime Garner was suspected of during a deadly confrontation on Staten Island last summer. * Mayor: One Year After Death of Eric Garner, 'Summer All Out' a Success (NY1) * Schneiderman has authorized local prosecutors to open investigations when police officers kill unarmed civilians, but he has also prohibited them from giving immunity to any witnesses. * Basically, DAs argue their power should flow from voters, not from the AG * Here is Schneiderman's letter in response to DA'sconcerns *"logical inconsistency of superseding all 62 elected DAs..only to immediately designate them to perform crucial tasks.."DAs to Schneiderman.  * Schneiderman And DAs Trade Letters On Police Probe Authority (YNN) * Sharpton, Citizen Action Back Schneiderman In DA Dispute (YNN) * Eric Garner, who died after being put in a chokehold by a police officer one year ago today, was remembered by family, friends and advocates who held ceremonies and rallies calling for law enforcement reforms, The New York Times reports: *  Cuomo: DAs And AG ‘Have To Work It Out’ (YNN)






Race Relations: Why SI Stayed Cool
Jim Callaghan writes in the Daily News about the history of race relations and describes why Staten Island didn’t riot after the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold:  reports: 

Cuomo and the AG Stroking the DAs AG Investigating Mount Vernon 
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state AG Eric Schneiderman secretly assured the state’s 62 district attorneys that they are competent to prosecute Eric Garner-type killings by police — even as they stripped them of their power to do so and publicly questioned their objectivity, Fred Dicker reports.  * Schneiderman’s Office To Investigate Death Of Mount Vernon Woman (YNN) * Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office will use its special prosecutor status for the first time to investigate the death of Raynette Turner, a black woman who died in a Mount Vernon holding cell, State of Politicsreports:  *Editorial: Eric’s burden (NYDN Ed)


Grand Jury
Barron Proposing Grand Jury Ban (YNN) “There’s no sense in having a special prosecutor who’s also part of the system, and he can impanel a grand jury and have a secret proceeding,” Barron said during a telephone interview Thursday. “We won’t know how he’s presenting witnesses or interpreting forensic evidence..This is not in any way interfering with the special prosecutor. In fact, it strengthens him, because he will have to present in public, and not in a private grand jury setting.”*De Blasio warned: End secret grand juries or supporters will ‘shut city down’ (NYP) A Brooklyn pol wants to replace secret grand juries with open court proceedings whenever a cop kills a civilian — and vowed Monday to make Mayor de Blasio go along with the plan. Democratic Assemblyman Charles Barron said supporters will “shut this city down” if de Blasio doesn’t get on board. * Alongside activists including Eric Garner’s mother, Brooklyn Assemblyman Charles Barron unveiled a proposal to eliminate grand jury proceedings for police officers accused of killing civilians, the Observerreports: 


UPDATE Garner Chokehold DEAL $5.9 MILLION
Sunday Stand down, DAs: Gov. Cuomo and Attorney General EricSchneiderman are right to impose state AG investigation of police-involvedkillings of civilians (NYDN Ed) * City Hall slams 'misinformation' on proposed cap for Uber (NYDN) * Many of New York state’s 62 district attorneys have voiced their anger over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to put the attorney general in charge of cases in which police kill unarmed civilians, but they need to build a cooperative relationship, the DailyNews writes:   Monday While NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton has blamed slow hiring of African-American officers on the high percentage of criminal records in that community some without records continue to wait, the Times reports:
New York Cityhas reached a settlement with the family of Eric Garner for $5.9 million  (nyp) *  Eric Garner's family to accept $5.9 million wrongful deathsettlement  (SI Advance) * City reaches $5.9M settlement in Garner chokehold case (NYP) * The Garner settlement is the largest ever for a wrongful-death case against an NYPD officer. But it is the not the first time the city has reach an agreement in connection with a high-profile case. * NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said the NYPD has come a “long way” since Garner’s killing.  * New York City agreed to pay $5.9 million settlement to avoid a wrongful death suit brought by the family of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died after being put in a chokehold by a cop, The New York Times reports:    * Family Renews Calls for Civil Rights Charges a Year After Garner’s Death (NYT) Hundreds of people converged in front of the federal courthouse in Brooklyn to demand that federal civil rights charges be filed in the death of Eric Garner.


YOU CAN’T PAY FOR A LIFE’: Family of Eric Garner accepts $5.9M settlement for wrongful choking death at hands of cops, will continue ‘pursuit of justice’ (NYDN) * HAMILL: One year later, Eric Garner’s death still haunts Staten Island street — 'There’s a feeling here that there was no justice for Eric' (NYDN) * De Blasio to speak at memorial service for Eric Garner at Staten Island church near site of choking death (NYDN) * 'I THINK WE'VE COME A LONG WAY': De Blasio says progress in NYC has been made since Eric Garner's death (NYDN) *  A year after Garner’s death, the Staten Island community where he lived and died remains strained by tensions between officers and residents despite efforts to improve the situation, the Daily News’ Denis Hamill writes:  

Attorney for #EricGarner familysays 'Not enough focus' on other officers involved (Caoital) Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants BenevolentAssociation, blasted New York City’s record $5.9 million settlement with the family of police chokehold victim Eric Garner in a New York Post column:  *  Attorney for #EricGarner familysays 'Not enough focus' on other officers involved  * DAs seeking more clarity on special prosecutor role[Morning Memo]  * Eric Garner Did Not Die In Vain': de BlasioPushes Reconciliation at Memorial Event (NYO) * State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has authorized local prosecutors to open investigations when police officers kill unarmed civilians, but he has also prohibited them from giving immunity to any witnesses, the Associated Press reports: * Friends and Family Ask if Policing Has Changed Since Garner’s Death (NYT) A year after Eric Garner’s death, loved ones say more needs to be done while the city seeks to move forward.* A SOLEMN ANNIVERSARY: Eric Garner's death commemorated one year later by family - daughter releases dove with mourners, protesters (NYDN) * http://goodblacknews.org/2015/07/18/100-percent-of-black-students-graduate-from-brooklyn-college-academy-in-new-york …(NYDN)

Wednesday Update Taxpayers’ response to Garner settlement: He ‘isn’t a martyr’ (NYP) * The facts that got lost in the $5.9 million Garner payout (NYP Ed) * In a rare trip outside state lines, Gov. Andrew Cuomo today will address the NAACP’s national convention in Philadelphia Wednesday about his recent appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate cases where police kill unarmed and other civilians. * Speaking at an interfaith church service last night marking the one-year anniversary of Eric Garner’s death, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said the incident has helped move the city forward and usher in significant changes within the NYPD. * De Blasio sought to create a balance in his remarks, saying “all lives matter,” “black lives matter” and “blue lives matter.” * Members of the Garner family say their $5.9 million settlement with the de Blasio administration, which the comptroller’s office described as the largest settlement in the history of the city over a killing by police officers, will not end their push for police reform.* Cuomo is expected to discuss his recent appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate cases where police kill unarmed suspects or civilians when addressing the NAACP’s national convention today, the Daily Newswrites:  * De Blasio spoke carefully about more police reforms at a memorial service for Eric Garner, who died a year ago from a police chokehold in Staten Island, which was also attended by New York City police officers, The New YorkTimes writes:  * Anger mounted Tuesday over the city’s decision to settle with the Garner family over his death that occurred following an arrest for selling loose cigarettes on Staten Island last summer, the Post writes:  * For DAs, More Clarity Needed On Special Prosecutor’s Role (YNN)  * Mayor Bill de Blasio avoided explaining why he included the statements “all lives matter” and “blue lives matter” alongside “black lives matter” during last night’s memorial service for Eric Garner, a black man killed by a cop, the Observer reports:  Friday City Comptroller’s Office Dispenses Few Answers but Writes Real Checks (NYY) In concluding, without explanation, that the Garner estate should be paid, Scott Stringer has extended the silence in a new direction.*  Sharpton, Citizen Action Back Schneiderman In DA Dispute (YNN


DA's Push Back At Schneiderman's Role As Special Police Shooting Investigator
  Thursday New York Attorney General Sets Guidelines for Inquires Into Police Killings (NYT) Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has authorized local prosecutors to investigate cases in which police officers kill unarmed civilians. * The NYPD has made nearly 33 percent fewer arrests citywide so far this year for selling untaxed cigarettes, the crime Eric Garner was arrested for during the deadly confrontation on Staten Island last summer, theJournal writes:  * Huge amounts of money get thrown around after publicized tragedies, such as the recent Garner family settlement, and no one feels comfortable objecting and questioning whether the decision is fair, WilliamO’Reilly writes in am New York: * The NY Post questions NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer’s claim that the city’s $5.9 million settlement with the Garner family is fiscally responsible. * De Blasio said he’s looking forward, not backward, on police-community relations, refusing to analyze whether he changed his tone on cops in a speech he gave on Staten Island this week. He also ducked questions about whether he talks differently about police to his 17-year-old son Dante, and avoided saying whether he thought the police had changed since the death of Eric Garner. * The NYPD has made nearly 33 percent fewer arrests citywide so far this year for selling untaxed cigarettes – the crime Garner was suspected of during a deadly confrontation on Staten Island last summer. * Mayor: One Year After Death of Eric Garner, 'Summer All Out' a Success (NY1) * Schneiderman has authorized local prosecutors to open investigations when police officers kill unarmed civilians, but he has also prohibited them from giving immunity to any witnesses. * Basically, DAs argue their power should flow from voters, not from the AG * Here is Schneiderman's letter in response to DA'sconcerns *"logical inconsistency of superseding all 62 elected DAs..only to immediately designate them to perform crucial tasks.."DAs to Schneiderman.  * Schneiderman And DAs Trade Letters On Police Probe Authority (YNN) * Sharpton, Citizen Action Back Schneiderman In DA Dispute (YNN) * Eric Garner, who died after being put in a chokehold by a police officer one year ago today, was remembered by family, friends and advocates who held ceremonies and rallies calling for law enforcement reforms, The New York Times reports: *  Cuomo: DAs And AG ‘Have To Work It Out’ (YNN)



Appellate Rules Garner Case Grand Jury Evidence Should Remain Secret
Ruling That Denied Release of Grand Jury Evidence in Garner Case Is Upheld (NYT) A four-judge panel of the Appellate Division in Brooklyn ruled unanimously, citing the “very real or potential danger that disclosure might present” to the grand jury and witnesses. * Stop Hiding Police Misconduct in New York (NYT) An appeals court may get to put its weight behind a ruling that the public can be told about an officer’s past. *Eric Garner grand jury records kept secret by appeals court (NYP) * Grand Jury Clears Four New York Officers in Fatal 2014 Shooting of Robbery Suspect (NYT) The panel concluded that the police officers who killed Scott Kato, after he held up a Manhattan pharmacy, had reason to believe he was going to fire at them. The Buffalo News writes that Cuomo’s move to appointAttorney General Eric Schneiderman as a special prosecutor in the case of unarmed people killed by police is a reasonable reaction to a real problem: * AG Eric Schneiderman said investigators from his office have yet to determine whether they will intervene in Mount Vernon, where a mother of eight died in police custody earlier this week while awaiting arraignment. * Judges rule against disclosing Garner grand jury notes (Capital) * Schneiderman still reviewing Mount Vernon case (Capital)



Cuomo Response to Baltimore Wakeup
Cuomo said he will use executive powers to enable a special prosecutor to pursue charges against police officers who kill civilians if lawmakers don’t approve his related plan, the Times Union reports: * The Journal writes the “nightmare in Baltimore” shows what governance under de Blasio-led progressives leads to and highlights the need for urban renewal built on private economic development and broken windows policing * Eric Garner’s mom: Baltimore riots should be a wakeup call for New York state lawmakers (NYDN) * The relatives of people killed by police finally got their meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo,and said he has agreed to order a special prosecutor to investigate such deaths if his legislative proposal fails to establish a special monitor to review similar cases.* Today is the 23rd anniversary of the Rodney King riots. Notmuch has changed 


 Eric Garner’s mother was a member of the group that met with Cuomo. She called the meeting “very positive,” though a spokeswoman for the families said they still believe the governor’s independent monitor proposal doesn’t go far enough. (They would prefer a special prosecutor’s office, and will continue to push for it).* The revelation of post-arrest questioning of people involved in the demonstration’s following a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer involved in Eric Garner’s death has renewed long-running concerns among civil liberties activists about police practices that may have a chilling effect on activities protected by the First Amendment, like protest and free speech. * Stewart-Cousins: Criminal Justice Reforms Sooner, Not Later(YNN)* A criminal justice reform advocate claims that Cuomo told her and others that the special prosecutor that would handle cases of alleged police brutality would be state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, State of Politics reports: * Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins expects changes to the state’s criminal justice system before the end of the legislative session, State of Politicswrites: 



Even the NYP Says the Garner Grand Jury Records Should Be Released  
NYP Says Judge Was Wrong Not To Release the Records . . . Will Albany Open Grand Jury Records?
Judge Garnett’s mistake (NYP Ed)  Staten Island Supreme Court Justice William Garnett writes that, should he release grand-jury records in the death of Eric Garner, The Post “would merely publish all, or part of, the minutes and might use them as grist for its editorial mill.” Let’s be clear: However good our “mill” might be, it is no reason to keep the facts from the public in this case of utmost public interest. And our “compelling and particularized need” for the records lies in our nature as a New York newspaper — to bring such facts before the public, so that each citizen can judge for him- or herself. Judge Garnett writes that continued secrecy will prevent the grand jury from being subject to “unbridled speculation” about its integrity. Sorry: Such “unbridled speculation” has been rampant from the instant the grand jury’s decision was released, if not before. People across the city and the nation continue to second-guess the jury’s findings — without having heard the evidence that was presented to it. The judge may believe that the high legal bars to overturning grand-jury secrecy have not been met here, but one simple fact remains: Keeping the Garner grand-jury records sealed will only further erode public trust in the justice system’s ability to get it right. We do not look forward to having to keep running that ugly fact through our editorial mill.

Judge Keeps Garner Testimony  

Judge won’t release grand jury testimony from Eric Garner case (NYP) A judge on Thursday refused to release testimony heard by a grand jury that declined to indict a police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, arguing there wasn’t a good enough reason to release the secret information. Donovan argued that the disclosure would damage the credibility of prosecutors seeking to assure both grand jurors and witnesses that details of their participation would be kept from public view. Following the grand jury’s decision, Donovan asked for some information to be made public, but it didn’t include testimony or exhibits shown to jurors. The law required the NYCLU and the other parties who brought the lawsuit to establish a “compelling and particularized need” to release the grand jury minutes, the judge wrote. * Eric Garner grand jury testimony will stay secret, courtrules (NYO) *  A judge denied requests to release testimony from the Eric Garner grand jury proceedings because it could "undermine the overriding concern for independence of our grand juries," DNAinfo reports: * Judge Denies Request To Release Eric Garnr Grand JuryRecords #EricGarner #grandjury #JudgeDeniesRequest (NYT) Update NYCUL has vowed to appeal the ruling, and so did NYC Public Advocate Tish James.* In Eric Garner Case, Judge Rules Against Releasing Grand Jury Evidence (NYT) Justice William E. Garnett of State Supreme Court on Staten Island said the parties seeking disclosure of the evidence had failed to establish a “compelling” need.* A fundraising email from Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan’s congressional campaign says the Rev. Al Sharpton is “coming after” him and alleges he is trying to hurt Donovan, the Observer reports * The decision not to unseal the grand jury minutes in theEric Garner case just continues the crime *
Crime-fighting strategy analyzes data of shooters and those shot (NYP) The NYPD is taking aim at 300 pistol-loving thugs responsible for most of New York’s gun violence, using shooting data to tie them to murders and weapon crimes. In a... Abandoning the poor (NYP Ed)  Many of those pushing this are in the anti-cop camp, and simply looking for political cover. But Commissioner Bill Bratton plainly wants the reinforcements so he can keep crime down. We’re not unsympathetic to Mayor de Blasio for being reluctant here. The move commits the city to spending millions of dollars in future years — dollars that can’t go to feed the hungry, house the homeless or just fix the roads. Yet the NYPD plainly needs some kind of help — because not a week passes without cops being hamstrung in some new way. The latest lunacy landed this month, and will harm the city’s poor and minorities the most. The brass have had to gut the quarter-century-old “Clean Halls” program designed to increase security in public-housing buildings. It encouraged cops to clear out or detain loiterers who qualified as trespassers. But de Blasio settled another case where stop-and-frisk Judge Shira Scheind­lin opted for injustice. Now cops must have a demonstrable “reasonable suspicion” that loiterers are in a building illegally before approaching them. This, when the most significant uptick in violent crime over the last year has come in public-housing projects. Just last weekend, a man was fatally shot outside the Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn.





Grand Jury Debate NYT: Restoring Public Trust . . .  NYP: Keeping the Right of Secrecy  
A Judge’s Idea for Grand Jury Reform (NYT Ed) Proposals from New York’s chief judge would be a step toward restoring public trust in the justice system. Lawmakers should give Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s grand jury reform proposals serious consideration if they want to ensure that the public can trust that police will answer for their acts,Lippman‘s lunatic grand-jury ‘fix’(NYP) Why would anyone need a grand jury? The answer is to protect against a rush to judgment. Or, as Chief Justice Earl Warren once put it, “to determine whether a charge is founded upon reason or was dictated by an intimidating power or by malice and personal ill will.” The uproar over the Garner case was precisely because the grand jury carried out the assignment as understood by Warren and the authors of the New York and United States constitutions. Lord knows what would have happened had a judge intervened. Inserting a judge into the grand-jury room is bizarre enough in and of itself, but Lippman also wants to end grand-jury secrecy. That is, again, he wants to end such protection for certain accused persons, namely police officers and others in police-civilian encounters. All kinds of reasons exist for grand juries to conduct their deliberations in secret. This is so fundamental that it has existed in English law for centuries and is required by New York state law.* * The state’s first African-American county clerk took office, reminiscing about his experiences with racial segregation and vowing to encourage more minorities to serve on Manhattan juries, the Daily News reports: *Erie County DA Knocks Lippman’s Criminal Justice Approach (YNN) Not so fast, said Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita, who also leads the statewide district attorneys association. In an interview, Sedita took issue with the proposal to have judges reside over such cases, saying such a move is a distinctly European import. “Our Founding Fathers had rejected that system,” Sedita said. * The NYT says legislators should give Chief Judge Lippman’s grand jury reform proposals “serious consideration if they want to ensure that the public — and particularly those in minority communities where residents most often encounter law enforcement — can trust that police will be held to answer for their acts.”


Chief Judge Proposes Grand Jury Reforms 
It Took Garner's Chokehold Death to Push Grand Jury Reform

Bold Plans for New York Courts (NYT) The state’s chief judge has come up with innovative ideas and programs to close the “justice gap.” (NYT Ed)
NY chief judge proposes sweeping grand jury reforms(NYP) New York’s chief judge has proposed major grand jury reforms with records released when nobody is charged and direct judicial oversight when police are investigated for killings or felony assaults. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s legislative proposals follow protests last year after a grand jury declined to indict a police officer seen on video choking an unarmed Staten Island man who died. He says Tuesday the immediate concern is the perception that prosecutors, who work closely with police, can’t objectively bring cases against them in secret grand jury proceedings. His legislation would have a judge preside inside the grand jury room in police cases. Lippman would also open records in cases where there’s no indictment and where it would advance “a significant public interest” and the person investigated is already known or consents.* N.Y.'s top judgecalls state's secretive grand jury process a “relic of another time" (LoHud) * State’s Top Judge Calls For Grand Jury Transparency (Updated) (YNN)

NY chief judge proposes sweeping grand jury reforms (NYP)* Head of New York’s Top Court Says Judges Should Oversee Grand Juries in Deaths Involving Police (NYT) Prosecutors, who handle the proceedings now, are seen as too close with law enforcement, Jonathan Lippman, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, said his annual address.* State judge proposes letting public see evidence fromcases that do not lead to indictment (NYDN)* Calling for an “end to grand jury secrecy as we know it,” Chief Judge Jonathan Lippmanproposed legislation allowing the public to see evidence presented in high-profile cases that did not lead to an indictment. * Lippman said the grand jury system is”a relic of another time” that needs overhaul in light of deadly police encounters, apparently a reference to the case of Eric Garner, an unarmed man who died after a police chokehold last summer. * Lippman’s ideas would go further than previously proposed grand jury reforms, placing judges squarely in the middle of grand jury activities – something that national groups say would set New York’s judges apart from jurists in other states. * Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson backed Lippman’s proposal to allow greater disclosure of grand jury proceedings. * Lippman turns 70 in May and so must retire at year’s end. This was his final State of the Judiciary address.


Cuomo Looks At Criminal Justice Changes 
The 11th preview from the Opportunity Agenda came in the form of a 176-page report from the governor’s Commission on Youth, Public Safety and Justice, appointed as part of a Cuomo initiative from his 2014 State of the State address to examine how the state treats 16 and 17-year-old offenders. * The commission recommended, and Cuomo supported, ending the state’s policy of treating minors in the criminal justice system as adults. New York is one of just two states – the other being North Carolina – that does this. *  Cuomo is considering requiring automatic state reviews when grand juries fail to indict in police brutality cases. Under a scenario being discussed with interested parties, once a grand jury decides not to indict, the DA would be required to transmit all records from the case — including grand jury transcripts — to the state entity doing the review.


DA's Transparency OK But No Special Prosecutors 
The state's local district attorneys say they can support measures to make the grand jury process more transparent, but are “diametrically opposed” to automatically requiring special prosecutors in police brutality cases, the Daily News reportsUnapologetic Lynch defends his war of words with de Blasio(NYP)  Embattled PBA President Patrick Lynch defended his war of words with Mayor de Blasio — despite a poll showing he was even less popular than cop-bashing Rev. Al Sharpton. “I don’t do my job to make myself popular,” Lynch told The Post Friday. “I do my job to get the best policies in the Police Department that protects our members and helps us do our job with the public that we serve.* Mayor Bill de Blasio will spend part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the Rev. Al Sharpton, which Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins says undermines the mayors credibility with cops, the Daily News reports: * Brooklyn man who claims NYPD officer put him in chokehole screams 'Can't breathe' — but lived and will now collect $75K(NYDN)  Cuomo is considering proposing automatic state reviews when grand juries fail to indict in police brutality cases, but he might not call for sending such cases to special prosecutors, the Daily News reports:


Where are the Protests to Demand DA's Conflict of Interests Grand Jury Reforms?

The admonishment came in the wake of Saturday’s execution-style slayings of two NYPD cops as they sat in a patrol car in Brooklyn. “The court administrator told her she exercised poor judgment, and that she had a case on later that night, and that she should exercise better judgment in that case,” the source said. On Tuesday night, Johnson released Travis Maye, 26, without bail following his arrest in a violent melee with cops earlier that day. According to court records, Maye took swings at cops at Flatbush Avenue and Prospect Place at around 1:35 a.m., socking one officer in the eye and sending him to the hospital.



Quite true. The protesters haven't a clue except for anti-police anger.
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DA and Grand Jury Let the Cop Go, Not the NYPD 
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Why Did the Protesters Go After the Cops When It Was Elected Officials That Control the Prosecutorial System That Let the Garner Chokehold Cops Go?
Pols Set-Up Cops:
Blame Game
Community activist Tony Herbert who introduced a family member of officer Rafael Ramos said it the best, elected officials are using the cops, turning the community against them. Herbert ask why are the elected officials forcing to the cops to raise money for the city?  The relationship between the community and the police are strained Herbert said, cops are forced to give out parking tickets, act as tax collectors for government. That creates tension between the community and cops.  Herbert also has complained why the cops are force to deal with people who have mental problems, when it was the elected officials who have not properly dealt with that populations. Police did not cause bad schools, high black unemployment, homelessness or the inequities of the criminal justice system that puts male blacks in jail at a much hirer rate, elected officials did. In other words he says the pols use the cops. Yet they have to deal with the problems that are created by government failure. The pols has escaped any blame with the Grand Jury system which they control   It was the Grand Jury Run by the Staten Island DA Donovan that failed to indict the cop who put the chokehold on Garner. Yet the words out of de Blasio, Sharpton and dozens of elected officials many who has a say on how the state's prosecutorial system works, have all been directed to blame the cops.


Pols Untouched (Except Mayor) for Any Blame On the Failure of Police Community Relations 
Brooklyn Bridge Protest 'What do we want? Dead cops,' Now PO Ramos and Liu Can't Breathe and the Pols who said almost nothing after demonstrators attacked cops on the bridge are attending the memorials 
In fact all discussion on the state's system of prosecution has been avoided as the demonstrators egged on by the pols attacked the cops.  The anger of the demonstrators began to mimic  on Lord of the Flies as thousands of demonstrators march across the Brooklyn Bridge chanting Kill the cops. A few even attacks the cops.  If the demonstrators are going to achieve any reforms to will hold the police accountable they and they and the killer of officer Ramos and Liu have the wrong targets.* WATCH: Family and Friends of Slain NYPD Officer Hold PressConference * De Blasio’s arrogance puts cops in cross-hairs (NYP)Cops put brakes on ticketing cyclists, target jaywalkers(NYP) * New York City Police Commissioner Says Killings of Officers a 'Spin-off' of Demonstrations(WSJ)

Pols Have Made the Job of Policing Impossible By Not Fixing Social Ills That Create Tension Between Cops and the Community 
Any Outrage OutThere for Ramos and Liu, Protesters? (Daily Beast) “Once a bullet leaves a gun, it has no friends,” the late Sen. Pat Moynihan once said. That is the nature of power, too. Those who have it must take extra care to be precise in their words and actions, lest they unleash the dogs of hell. The mayor failed that test miserably. He can run from the consequences, but he can’t hide. His mayoralty is sunk unless he comes to grips with the fact that he lit the fuse that led to Saturday’s explosion. For two years, starting with his 2013 campaign, he painted a target on the NYPD. Many of us warned repeatedly that he was playing with fire, but he saw his election as a blank check.

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