Manhattan D-A Bragg changes some guidelines regarding criminal charges

NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan’s district attorney is trying to blunt questions about his commitment to prosecuting armed robbery and assaults on police. District Attorney Alvin Bragg backed away in a memo Friday from some controversial policies he outlined days after taking office last month. The Democrat says gunpoint and knifepoint stickups at stores will be prosecuted as felonies.

Bragg says his office will also prosecute anyone who harms or tries to harm a police officer. Bragg told staffers last month not to prosecute certain offenses, not to ask judges to detain people before trial on many charges, and not to seek prison time on many types of convictions.