Captial Pro
Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Constance Malcolm, mother of Ramarley Graham; Iris Baez, mother of Anthony Baez; Hawa Bah, mother of Mohamed Bah; Margarita Rosario, mother of Anthony Rosario and aunt of Hilton Vega jointly said: “For decades, our families and those of other New Yorkers killed by police have faced repeated injustices, not only losing family members to police violence by those tasked with serving and protecting but also being failed by local district attorneys not holding officers accountable to the law for those deaths. Many of us have been calling for a special prosecutor for decades, so this reform stems from the legacies of New Yorkers whose unjust deaths go back a long time and the leadership of our families. Today, Governor Cuomo is listening to our voices of and those of other New Yorkers who support equal justice to enact an important reform to end this conflict of interest. Nothing will bring back the lives of our loved ones, and this was never simply about our families – it was about all those who come after us because we so deeply understand the pain and heartache of losing a loved one and then having their life not matter within our justice system. While New York takes national leadership with this reform, there remains much work to be done to ensure our children and family members are no longer unjustly killed by police in the first place. We hope to work with Governor Cuomo and other leaders in moving New York forward to build upon today’s important step to end the discriminatory and abusive policing that threatens our families and communities.”