BK DA Promises Transparency After Dropping Ex-Cop Rape Case

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn District Attorney unveiled a new justice plan that calls for improving transparency and prosecution of sexual assault cases days after he dropped charges against two ex-cops accused of raping a Brooklyn teen.

"Now is the time to focus on reforming injustices in the system that have led to over-reliance on incarceration and a lack of trust in the criminal justice system," Eric Gonzalez stated.

"I am committed to shifting to ways of holding people accountable and increasing public safety that don’t rely on incarceration as the default option."

The Brooklyn District Attorney announced Monday his office will employ 17 progressive prosecutorial tactics — which focus on drug decriminalization, community involvement and improved transparency — detailed in the new Justice 2020 program.

The recommendations — which come defense attorneys, law enforcement officials, and formerly incarcerated people, among others — are designed to decrease both jail sentences and the number of people sent to jail, the Brooklyn District Attorney said.

Drug charge reform plays a large role in the new plan, which calls for sealing past marijuana convictions, pursuing less or no jail time on drug possession charges and requesting the minimum sentences at parole hearings.

The Brooklyn District Attorney's office will also begin working with community leaders to divert children and high-risk New Yorkers away from the criminal justice system whenever possible and form a new data/analytics team to study results.

Finally, Gonzalez promised to enhance rape prosecution and his office's transparency when handling police misconduct cases.

These reforms were announced day after Anna Chambers discovered Gonzalez would not pursue rape charges against two police officers who admitted to having sex with the then-18-year-old in the back of their police van.

The plan does not specify what protocols it will develop to "improve accountability and transparency" during police misconduct cases, but noted they must "be taken seriously and handled transparently."

"No one is above the law."