Brooklyn DA nixes $ from police unions
Just one of the city’s five district attorneys signed on to a call Monday to reject endorsements and cash contributions from law enforcement unions.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, a prolific fundraiser from the unions, has sworn — along with 39 other elected prosecutors across the country — not to take money from police and law enforcement unions.
“We hear the resounding calls for us to do better by those we serve. Many steps remain, but one concrete and immediate way we intend to do better is by declining any campaign endorsements or contributions made by a law enforcement union,” wrote the 40 prosecutors who signed onto the letter.
The letter was in response to protests against police brutality cropping up across the country this year.
The group included former public defenders Chesa Boudin and Larry Krasner, who are the DAs in San Francisco and Philadelphia, respectively. It also included Cook County, Ill., DA Kim Foxx.
For Gonzalez (inset), signing on represents a stark change from his fund-raising tactics in previous election cycles.
In 2016 and 2017, Gonzalez took in in $6,000 from the Police Benevolent Association and $1,500 from the NYPD’s Captains Endowment Association, according to state records. He also took in $5,000 from 2017 to 2019 from the state troopers PAC and another $2,500 from the Bridge and Tunnels Officers Benevolent Association, according to the records.
It was not clear if Gonzalez would reject contributions from all law enforcement unions, like the correction officers union, which has contributed $16,000 to Gonzalez since 2017.
Even more significant is the court officers union, which gave Gonzalez $61,000 between 2017 and 2019.