NYT FRONT PAGE: After Spate Of Shootings, Manhattan D.A. Takes Tougher Stance On Gun Crimes

MANHATTAN: When Alvin Bragg was a candidate for Manhattan district attorney, he spoke often about gun possession cases that did not merit harsh prosecution or imprisonment, saying that not every person charged with such a crime was linked to violence.

But on Wednesday, facing a backlash over the lenient policies he put in place upon taking office earlier this month and following a string of high-profile shootings, Mr. Bragg announced the appointment of a new prosecutor dedicated to preventing gun violence — and acknowledged that his emphasis, if not his approach, had changed.

Mr. Bragg said that he had been overly focused during the campaign on what he called “exceptional” cases in which gun possession should not be prosecuted. Since taking office, he said, he realized he needed to be more clear about when traditional prosecution was called for.

“It’s certainly a change in emphasis,” he said in an interview. “It’s certainly not a change in my thinking or in my work.”

Mr. Bragg’s shift comes as New York City grapples with gun violence that rose sharply in the summer of 2020 and has remained elevated since then. There were more than 1,500 shooting incidents in both 2020 and 2021, according to preliminary year-end data released by the New York Police Department — about twice as many as in each of the previous two years.

Those statistics have been underscored by a series of shootings early in the year, including the killing of Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora as they responded to a 911 call in Harlem on Friday.

Other victims have included three additional police officers, a teenager working at a Burger King restaurant and an 11-month-old baby.

In response, Mayor Eric Adams this week unveiled a comprehensive plan to address gun violence, which outlined actions that the city would take and called on other criminal justice entities — including the state court system, the Legislature and district attorneys like Mr. Bragg — to enact new policies to help the crackdown.

On Wednesday, President Biden announced that he would travel to New York City next week for an appearance with Mr. Adams to discuss the White House’s strategy to fight gun crime.... 

PLEASE READ MORE HERE: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/26/nyregion/alvin-bragg-gun-violence.ht…