Governor Missing On Police Killings
Had New York’s State Senate passed a police reform bill, one that had been repeatedly approved by the Assembly, the officer most directly responsible for the death of Eric Garner on Staten Island last summer might now be facing criminal charges. Instead, by failing to change the rules, which would have required independent special prosecutors in cases when police kill civilians, the Senate left in place an inadequate and bad system.
The problem is not just that police have killed unarmed civilians with doubtful justification, but that many members of the country’s minority groups do not trust the legal system as a whole, and that they have reason not to do so.
A proposal this week from State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman could help resolve some of the public anger, but it would depend on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who so far has had an unenthusiastic response. Considering that two recent unnecessary deaths occurred in New York State, Mr. Cuomo’s equivocation is deeply disappointing.
Taking the matter to the media this week, Mr. Schneiderman pointed to the inherent conflict of interest between prosecutors and police when an officer is the accused. In a system that depends on trust between the police and those they are sworn to protect, the close ties between law enforcement and district attorneys undermine public confidence. “When the trust between the police and the communities they serve and protect breaks down, everyone is at risk,” Mr. Schneiderman said.
As an answer for the short term, Mr. Schneiderman proposed an executive order from the governor under existing state law that would give the attorney general’s office temporary authority to investigate future incidents of the killing of unarmed civilians by police. Looking further out, he added his voice to the many seeking leadership from the Legislature allowing for special prosecutors in cases of this kind.
Police unions and New York City district attorneys reacted angrily to Mr. Schneiderman’s call, insisting that the existing methods of investigation and prosecution remain up to the task. But theirs is a shallow reading of the tragic facts, more inclined toward protecting turf in the case of the D.A.s and shielding officers from being held accountable. Such response does nothing to speak to the public’s swelling outrage. And, unfortunately, the division falls along political lines, with many state Democrats supporting the idea of a special prosecutor and Republicans opposing it.
Mr. Cuomo needs to come out of the shadows and take a stand for the people of his state — all the people. One way to quickly do that would be for him to issue the temporary executive order Mr. Schneiderman called for. To its ongoing shame, the governor’s office had no immediate comment on Mr. Schneiderman’s request. Instead, it churned out a statement repeating the governor’s call that broad options be explored, presumably in another study or commission whose outcome, given recent history, he is likely to micromanage. He must do better.