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Manhattan, Westchester prosecutors request evidence from Cuomo sexual harassment probe

04 August 2021
Dan Ackermann

The district attorneys for Manhattan and Westchester County on Wednesday requested evidence related to New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

Why it matters: The district attorneys are investigating if alleged conduct highlighted in an independent report published by James' office that occurred in their jurisdictions was criminal in nature.

The big picture: Westchester District Attorney Miriam Rocah is specifically investigating an alleged incident involving a New York State trooper assigned to the governor’s detail at his Mount Kisco residence, according to NBC News.

  • The report alleged that Cuomo harassed the officer by “running his hand across her stomach, from her belly button to her right hip, while she held a door open for him” and “​​running his finger down her back, from the top of her neck down her spine to the middle of her back," while on an elevator.
  • Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance requested investigative materials pertaining to alleged incidents that occurred in Manhattan.

Cuomo denied the accusations in a video statement on Tuesday, saying he never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances, and would not resign.

  • Dozens of prominent Democrats, including President Biden, have called on Cuomo to step down.

Go deeper:Cuomo accuser speaks out, calls denials "dangerous," "victim blaming"

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.