DA visits with Community Board 11

During his annual visit to Community Board 11, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown explained the process of a grand jury indictment and spoke briefly about the Sean Bell trial.
“We are a busy office, and I have been very consumed in the last few months with the Sean Bell case,” he said, explaining that his office has had to prepare for the indictment proceedings first, and now for the trial of the three police officers charged in the shooting. The police officers - Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper - most recently appeared in court on Tuesday, April 12.
Since December 2006, Brown has spoken little to the media about the proceedings, except for his statement as he announced the indictment results.
“I don’t want to in any respect compromise the prosecution of the case,” he said.
The single aspect of the case that Brown has been outspoken about is his belief that the officers should be tried in a Queens County court.
“If the effort is made [to move the trial], I plan to vigorously oppose moving this case out of Queens,” Brown said. “It’s our responsibility. When I say our responsibility, it’s not just me. It’s everybody within this county.”
Community Board members questioned Brown about the selection of jurors, as well as about other items of interest, including the prevention of identity theft, how to protect children from predators, and wire tapping statistics.
In 2004, Brown’s office led the nation in wiretaps reported - 136 in 2004 and 80 from 2003 that had not been reported because investigations were ongoing.
In response, Brown credited the city’s wire-tapping program as a “valuable tool” in stopping criminal enterprise - like drug trafficking and auto thefts.
According to Brown, the 4,900 cars were stolen in Queens last year, as compared to 52,000 reported stolen in 1991. In addition, Queens beat out other boroughs last year with the largest decrease in crime.
“I would argue that it’s folks like yourself who deserve a pat on the back,” Brown said.