Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said there will be changes throughout her office in the aftermath of protests and demonstrations against systemic and institutionalized racism.
“As Nassau’s chief law enforcement official, I believe that this is an important moment to listen to those voices in our community calling for change, to reflect on how we can improve, and to affirm our commitment to do better,” Singas said.
Singas outlined some of the ways that her office will enhance the monitoring of law enforcement throughout the county in a letter to residents on June 8.
The district attorney’s office, Singas said, will form a partnership with Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane Law School to analyze data and find any link to racial disparity and bias in any charges and cases along with any corrective action warranted.
Singas said her office will also appoint a special prosecutor for every new case where a police officer is credibly accused of criminal conduct in the course of duties.
This action is an expansion of the state’s Executive Order 147, which was signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2015 and allowed a special prosecutor to be appointed to any case where there may be conflict on the local level and for that prosecutor to supersede the decision of any county’s district attorney throughout New York.
Singas also said that a diverse group of remote prosecutors, investigators and other staff members will be recruited, and the office will expand the number of councils to ensure broader geographic representation of the county’s community.
Singas noted that New York City is one of “many” jurisdictions that has established civilian oversight boards to provide independent reviews of complaints against law enforcement officials. Singas encouraged county officials and residents to form a board such as those.
“These boards investigate and recommend discipline for officers accused of misconduct, refer potential criminal conduct for possible prosecution, and they utilize tools like mediation to help improve relationships and trust between law enforcement and the public,” Singas said. “To promote transparency and independence, we encourage Nassau County to establish a civilian police review agency.”
These future changes come in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in late May.
Floyd, a black man, was arrested on May 25 by Minneapolis police officers after a deli employee contacted authorities, accusing him of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill, according to news reports.
A viral video showed Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee on Floyd’s neck. A criminal complaint from the Hennepin County attorney’s office said, “The defendant had his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Mr. Floyd was non-responsive.”
Chauvin, who is white, was initially charged with third-degree murder until the charge was updated to second-degree murder and manslaughter, according to news reports. He was one of four officers fired from the Police Department due to the incident.
The complaint said three factors contributed to Floyd’s death: “The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.”
Three other Minneapolis police officers who were present at the scene of the arrest were also charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, according to news reports.
On Friday, Cuomo signed into law the repealing of section 50(a) of the New York State Civil Rights Law, which protects the personnel records of police, firefighters and correction officers. Singas said she supported the need to reform the law but continued to say that repealing the law could put the families of those affected in danger.
“I support significant reform to Section 50(a), however, police officers do dangerous work, the overwhelming majority do their jobs with courage and integrity, and repeal that does not afford protection to officers’ personal information could endanger officers and their families.”
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced on Monday that the county issued a request for expression of interest to develop and implement a body camera program for the county’s Police Department.
“Now more than ever, we must continue to build trust between communities and the police. Nassau does community policing better than anyone else, but we always strive to do better,” Curran said. “Body cameras have proven to be a valuable tool in promoting transparency, safety and accountability. Nassau is bringing everyone to the table to make positive, concrete change.”
According to county officials, parties that are interested in participating or people with questions regarding the development of the program can contact PoliceDepartmentCameras@nassaucountyny.gov.
