How Cuomo's Special Prosecutor Order Is Playing Out, 19 Months Later
About 19 months ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order that was hailed by many advocates and elected officials as a bold and unprecedented step towards police accountability.
Cuomo made Attorney General Eric Schneiderman a special prosecutor in certain cases of civilian deaths involving police officers. At the time, much of the country was focused on several high-profile examples of police killings of unarmed people, including Eric Garner in New York City.
The order aimed to have the Office of the Attorney General -- which Cuomo himself held from 2007 through 2010 -- bypass what many came to see as an inherent conflict of interest faced by district attorneys who are assigned to investigate and, when warranted, prosecute the very police officers they work alongside on a regular basis. The impetus, Cuomo said, was to restore faith in the criminal justice system...