Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson Temporarily Stepping Down After Cancer Diagnosis

BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson is temporarily stepping down following a cancer diagnosis, he announced in a statement Tuesday.

"During the absences occasioned by my treatment and recovery, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office will be led by Chief Assistant Eric Gonzalez, alongside others on the executive team," the statement read.

The change in leadership is effective immediately, according to spokesman Oren Yaniv.

"As Brooklyn District Attorney, I’ve dedicated myself and our Office’s resources over the past three years to keeping the people of our great borough safe while strengthening our commitment to reform and improve our criminal justice system," Thompson said.

"Since 2014, we have become a model for prosecutors’ offices around the country – holding those who break the law accountable by setting one standard of justice for all and fighting for innocent people who were wrongfully imprisoned for crimes they did not commit."

"Recently, I was diagnosed with cancer," the statement continued. "As a man of intense faith, I intend to fight and win the battle against this disease. I humbly seek your sincere prayers as I confront this challenge and respectfully ask that you honor my family’s need and wish for privacy during this time."

In response to the news, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called Thompson "a tireless champion for justice," adding that "his work has directly aided our shared mission to make Brooklyn a safer place to raise healthy children and families."

Thompson, a graduate of New York University Law School, assumed the role of Brooklyn D.A. in January 2014, after besting incumbent D.A. Charles Hynes in the 2013 Democratic Party primary race.

As district attorney, Thompson initiated the "Begin Again" program, designed to clear low-level warrants from the city's books. New York had about 1.2 million open warrants at the end of 2015, according to the Office of Court Administration. A total of 2,396 people attended the first Begin Again event in 2015, where 1,600 warrants were cleared, according to the DA's office.

In June, Thompson announced that a murder charge had been brought against Veron Primus in connection to the 2006 murder of Bed-Stuy high school student Chanel Petro-Nixon. Later that month, his office announced that three men had been charged with murder in the 2015 shooting death of former Andrew Cuomo aide Carey Gabay.

In one of his office's highest profile cases, in March, Thompson recommended no jail time for Peter Liang, the former NYPD cop convicted of manslaughter after fatally shooting Akai Gurley in a stairwell at the Louis Pink Houses in City Line. Judge Danny Chun agreed, and Liang was sentenced to five years probation and 800 hours of community service.

And this past August, Thompson was fined $15,000 by the city's Conflicts of Interest Board for using DA funds to pay for personal meals between January 2014 and May 2015. He had previously reimbursed the city for the expenses.

Pictured at top: Ken Thompson, left, during a June press conference