“One year ago today, our collective conscience was shocked when a Staten Island grand jury did not indict the individual responsible for Eric Garner’s death. Our eyes did not lie, and the injustice rendered upon Eric Garner and his family triggered a national movement to restore public trust in our criminal justice system.
My office has taken every legal measure possible to unseal the grand jury records from the Garner case. We took on the case in pursuit of transparency and accountability, and we remain optimistic that the Department of Justice’s investigation will bring closure for millions of Americans demanding answers.
We have made important progress in New York with the implementation of body-worn cameras in the NYPD, a program I championed in the months before the NYPD agreed to adopt it. We will also benefit from the establishment of a statewide special prosecutor for cases involving police officers, and the adoption of other police reforms to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the communities they are sworn to protect.
But we still have a long way to go. We must continue to work together to improve training and technology within the NYPD, to permanently codify the powers of the special prosecutor, and to promote diversity in police leadership.
We cannot, and will not, rest until all Americans are served by a criminal justice system that upholds fairness, transparency, and accountability.”
