State officials will not take over the investigation of a fatal police shooting in the Bronx slaying of Deborah Danner, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Thursday.
Schneiderman’s statement didn’t specify a reason beyond saying he was authorized to intervene “only under limited circumstances.”
But the executive order signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year limited the attorney general’s blanket appointment as a special prosecutor to “certain matters involving the death of an unarmed civilian.”
The NYPD has said that Danner, who had a lengthy history of mental illness, was trying to hit Sgt. Hugh Barry with a baseball bat when he fired two shots into her torso Tuesday evening.
“I believe there is no question this case must be investigated,” Scheiderman said in his statement.
“However, the legally empowered prosecutor must take the lead.”
In response, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clarke vowed: “I intend to conduct a full, reasoned and independent investigation into this matter, with an open mind, and any decisions that I make will be based upon the evidence.”
Clark said her probe would be led by Public Integrity Bureau Chief Wanda Perez-Maldonado, who she described as a “seasoned prosecutor,” under the supervision of Investigations Division Chief Jean Walsh.