Pols’ vote — AG to probe kills by cops

ALBANY — New York lawmakers voted Wednesday to establish a special prosecutor’s unit to investigate police-involved deaths.

The legislation, codifying and expanding an executive order issued by Gov. Cuomo, grants the state Attorney General’s Office the ability to investigate and potentially prosecute incidents when a person dies in custody or after an encounter with a police officer.

“New Yorkers deserve a judicial system that is impartial and fair,” said Assemblyman Nick Perry (D-Brooklyn). “Creating the Office of Special Investigation will address conflicts of interest and foster public confidence that when civilians die as a result of an interaction with law enforcement, justice will be served.”

The measure, along with the repeal of a statute known as 50-a that shielded police disciplinary records, is a cornerstone of a slate of criminal justice reform bills taken up by the Legislature this week amid a backdrop of civil unrest against police brutality that has engulfed the nation.

Protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis when a white cop knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, spurred lawmakers into action.

The bill takes investigative authority away from district attorneys, who often work closely with local departments, when someone dies after an encounter with police or in custody and creates an Office of Special Investigation.