Cuomo Creates Special Prosecutor for Killings by Police

 The surviving relatives of men who have been killed by police said they scored a victory on Wednesday when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order giving Attorney General Eric Schneiderman the authority to handle future cases involving civilian deaths at the hands of police.

The executive order naming Schneiderman as a special prosecutor came after months of protests, rallies and meetings between the governor and surviving family members of the men who were killed.

Gwen Carr lead the charge. She is the mother of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died a year ago following a police chokehold that was captured on video. After a grand jury in December failed to indict the officer in the case, Daniel Pantaleo, Carr and others questioned whether the local district attorney had the ability to act impartially.

Carr and other family members had hoped the governor would appoint a permanent special monitor, but the measure didn't pass during the state legislative session that ended last month. The executive order issued by Cuomo is limited to one year. He said he will try again for a special monitor next year.

Schneiderman said the families’ activism prompted his appointment, and is driving change in other areas of the criminal justice system.

“Thanks to the families that are here today — and your activism — we are starting to reexamine the entire premise of mass arrests and mass incarceration,” Schneiderman said.
He promised to serve in the role of special prosecutor with impartiality.