Relatives of New Yorkers who died at the hands of law enforcement returned to Albany to push the Legislature to reject anything short of the appointment of a special prosecutor to review such cases — a stance that makes Gov. Andrew Cuomo their ally and an unlikely opponent.
Gwen Carr, whose son Eric Garner died last summer after police put him in a chokehold as he was arrested for selling loose cigarettes on a Staten Island street corner, spoke during the advocates’ session-ending return visit.
“We need someone to look at the cases objectively,” she said. ” … What kind of society are we living in? What kind of world is this?”
Cuomo wants legislation that would give him the power to appoint a special monitor to assess the legal aftermath of such incidents. If he doesn’t get it — which seems likely due to Senate Republican concern — he has promised to use his executive powers to go even farther and create a special prosecutor that could pursue potential charges against police.
