A coalition of civil-rights advocates called yesterday for the creation of a permanent state special prosecutor to investigate suspected cases of police misconduct and brutality.
The group, which includes Norman Siegel, former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and state Sen. Eric Adams, an ex-cop, told a news conference they expect Gov. Paterson will support their proposal.
Siegel said Friday’s verdict acquitting three detectives in the slaying of Sean Bell in a hail of 50 bullets “proves it is almost impossible to successfully prosecute cases of police misconduct, especially in homicide cases.”
“The verdict underscores the need for systemic change in the way New York handles these important and, at times, high-profile cases,” he added.
Former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller created a state special prosecutor’s office in 1974, but it was abolished in 1993 by then-Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Adams (D-Brooklyn) said the office should be permanently reinstated.
“We are just as responsible for what happened [in the Bell killing] because, although the officers discharged their guns, we loaded the bullets. Our failures loaded the gun,” he said, holding a .38-caliber bullet.
The two spoke as Bell’s mother, Valerie, visited the Community Church of Christ in Jamaica – where her son was to have been married – and church officials gave out NYCLU pamphlets listing 14 things to do if you’re stopped by cops.
Siegel and Adams said they expected Paterson to support them because he had been a strong voice in previous police shootings.With AP