FILE:
NEW YORK CITY (77WABC) – The NYPD’s Sergeant Benevolent Association said it discovered that an assistant district attorney in Manhattan was allegedly busted trying to white-wash court documents of important key facts in a shoplifting case in order to reduce the severity of the crime.
In an email obtained by 77WABC Radio, SBA President Vincent Vallelong wrote to SBA members:
| Dear Fellow Sergeant,
It has come to our attention that during the processing of a Manhattan shoplifting arrest where the suspect threatened employees with a pair of cutting-shears, the ADA preparing the accusatory instrument intentionally omitted all facts related to the perp threatening the employees with a weapon Fortunately, the arresting officer had the sense to refuse to sign. We remind you to be hyper-vigilant when reviewing any accusatory instrument prepared by the Manhattan DA’s office. Make sure that what you sign is exactly what happened. I don’t think we have to tell you that if you sign something prepared by a Manhattan District Attorney that is inaccurate, they will blame you and prosecute you. If the Manhattan District Attorney wants to re-write the penal law, make him own it.
Fraternally, |
| Vincent J. Vallelong
President |
The SBA email comes amid a 10 page memo by newly elected Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in which he writes that crimes ranging from prostitution to fare evasion to resisting arrest will no longer be prosecuted “effective immediately.”
Bragg’s memo also reduces armed robbery from a felony to a misdemeanor if no one is seriously hurt. To read Bragg’s full memo, click here.
