Bragg Not Backing Down On New Policies, Despite Pushback

NEW YORK, NY — Manhattan's new top prosecutor sought to defend his plans and dispel misconceptions about his first weeks in office during a public appearance on Thursday, in which he also acknowledged that the rollout of his new policies had been messy.

Alvin Bragg, who assumed office Jan. 1 as district attorney of Manhattan, spoke and answered questions in a virtual event hosted by the New York University School of Law.

It came on the heels of a turbulent few weeks for Bragg, who on Jan. 4 revealed that his office would no longer seek prison time for a slew of offenses, including some assaults and robberies, reserving incarceration only for the most serious crimes.

That announcement came in the form of an internal memo sent to the office's hundreds of prosecutors. It fulfilled promises made by Bragg during last year's campaign, in which he pledged to treat criminal defendants more fairly and reduce penalties for low-level crimes.

Though none of its contents came as a surprise given Bragg's public statements, they have drawn fierce pushback from outlets like the New York Post and even the new police commissioner, Keechant Sewell, who told officers that she feared Bragg's policies would endanger them.

"I’ve got a lot to learn about comms and messaging," Bragg conceded Thursday. "Lesson learned."

Bragg emphasized Thursday that his office will continue to prosecute gun possession, and that robberies with a gun will still be considered felonies — clarifying a policy in the memo that downgrades penalties for other kinds of robberies.

"Gun possession cases are a key part of our public safety strategy," Bragg said. "People walking the streets with guns will be held accountable."

Still, he argued, showing leniency toward criminal defendants would help keep the public safe by not alienating the person being charged.

"The fact is, often the person charged with a crime today is tomorrow’s witness and next week’s victim," he said.

"I take full accountability"

Bragg described the memo as a "framework," suggesting that individual prosecutors could still use their discretion when deciding what charges to seek. (Indeed, his office has already surprised some defense attorneys by continuing to seek jail time.)

Still, Bragg admitted Thursday that the memo had sowed confusion, saying that the document had been written in "legalese" and was meant for lawyers, rather than the general public.

"I take full accountability for that confusion caused by the memo," he said. "[It] left many New Yorkers justifiably concerned for how we will keep them safe."

Returning to a key theme in his prosecutorial outlook, Bragg said that public safety and fairness did not contradict each other, and were in fact "inextricably linked.

"We cannot have one without the other," Bragg said.

Related coverage:

• Manhattan DA Won't Prosecute Slew Of Minor Crimes
• Alvin Bragg, Son Of Harlem And Likely DA, Talks His Upbringing