New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) is facing a lawsuit from a store owner who was charged with murder after defending his business from a robbery. Bragg received considerable notoriety both from restricting prosecutions of a number of New York City crimes and indicting former President Donald Trump with charges stemming from an alleged brief relationship with former adult actress Stormy Daniels.
Bragg’s office had charged Jose Alba, who was attacked while working at his corner store in July 2022 by two individuals. The store owner defended himself with a knife, leaving one of the suspected robbers dead.
Now, Alba is suing Bragg and several police officers involved in the case. Alba’s attorney wrote that the district attorney’s office charged the store owner with second-degree murder as part of “Bragg’s policy to achieve ‘racial equity’ in the Manhattan criminal justice system.”
Harlem residents can thank George Soros and Alvin Bragg for this.https://t.co/abGpaWJODh
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 27, 2023
“Despite the fact that Simon and Lee were the initial aggressors, it was Plaintiff who was arrested, incarcerated, and wrongfully prosecuted,” read Alba’s suit. “While in theory, Bragg’s ‘racial equity’ policies are a well-intentioned attempt by him to implement even-handed justice, the means and methods employed by Bragg have instead had an opposite effect and resulted in discrimination against certain defendants based on race.”
The district attorney’s tenure has seen a significant increase in crime in New York City. House Republicans accepted testimony from individuals victimized by that crime on Capitol Hill earlier this year.
Brag was also criticized by members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) for his actions following an alleged assault on an officer.
Kenneth Paraison allegedly threw urine at an NYPD detective, hitting the officer’s face and mouth in February 2020. Bragg’s office waited so long to prosecute the suspect that the charges were eventually dropped.
The Detectives’ Endowment Association wrote in a statement that Bragg’s assistant district attorneys showed “absolute disregard.”
The statement also said that it “sends a message to criminals that there are no consequences for attacking Detectives and only invites more violence against the police, as well as the citizens of this City.”
Paraison allegedly attacked the detective while in a jail cell while being held on a separate robbery charge.
