By Frank G. Runyeon

Law360, New York (June 18, 2020, 10:27 PM EDT) -- New York Attorney General Letitia James presided over 17 hours of public testimony centering on violence against protesters between Wednesday and Thursday, part of an investigation into police brutality punctuated by a rebuke of the New York City Police Department and Mayor Bill de Blasio for not attending.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed James to investigate the recent allegations of attacks on protesters, and state lawmakers recently empowered her office to investigate local police misconduct in the future.

Over two days of troubling eyewitness accounts in the video-linked hearing, the attorney general lent a sympathetic ear to 100 sworn statements often describing how NYPD officers shoved, tackled, beat and bloodied people, most often unprovoked by anything more than voices expressing outrage over police brutality, although claims of misconduct came in from other corners of the state.

James pointedly noted that those directing the NYPD had decided to skip the two-day hearing and angrily denied public statements by police department brass that they were not formally invited, citing the precise dates and times she reached out.

"Let me be clear: The NYPD and the mayor were invited to participate in this hearing," James said, adding, "Both of these gentlemen have my cell phone."

"I can accommodate them at any moment. They can contact me now," James said. "Come and testify, because the general public expects you to. We can include your perspective as part of this investigation. I want a fair and balanced investigation and that is why it is incumbent upon the police commissioner and the mayor of New York to at least respond and/or appear in person so we can hear their testimony."

Neither man showed, but a parade of city and state leaders did appear to show their support for the protesters' right to demonstrate and generally support the investigation by lending whatever direct evidence they had of any alleged misconduct.

The mayor's office declined to answer why he chose not to attend the hearing, but in a statement noted the various reforms he's enacted in recent weeks including disbanding a street crimes unit and "diverting funds to under-served communities."

"We are fully complying with the attorney general's investigation to get to the truth of what happened at the protests, and will review the comments made by the public to help deepen our reforms," De Blasio said.

The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment on why the commissioner did not attend.

Instead, the many hours of testimony principally featured men and women, youthful and wizened, gay and straight, beamed in from their homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, decrying injustice at the hands of police.

Often armed with cellphone videos to bolster their claims, many protesters' stories shared common elements: a peaceful march by spirited citizens, a belated warning from heavily armed police, and a sudden violent series of arrests that left nonviolent protesters — more often with black or brown skin than white skin — injured and "zip tied" for many hours before being released on minor charges.

While glitchy and halting at times, the remote proceeding's ability to weave in videos of the protest arrests added a transporting quality by melding viral videos with the witnesses' emotional appeals for the attorney general to do something to change the status quo.

On Wednesday, Dounya Zayer, a young female protester seen on video being shoved to the ground by an NYPD officer and suffering a seizure as a result, recounted the alleged assault and the fear and emotional trauma she experienced as a result.

"They don't reflect the vast majority of the officers in the NYPD," James said after sharing her sympathies and viewing the video of an officer violently throwing Zayer to the ground as a commanding officer passively watched and turned to march away with his men.

"What about the dozens of officers that witnessed the assault and did nothing?" Zayer said, interrupting the attorney general to say that no police came to her aid when she was injured.

"I understand that there are good cops, but where was the good cop to help me? Where was the good cop for George Floyd?" Zayer asked, making an impassioned plea. "Where are the good cops?"

"Good cops," Zayer continued, shaking her head. "I don't see no good cops."

Testimonies repeatedly recounted police deploying tear gas, flash-bang grenades, pepper spray, and batons on peaceful demonstrators.

James was joined by her two special advisers for the investigation: former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, a current partner at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, and Barry Friedman, director of NYU School of Law's Policing Project. Together, the three nailed down the particulars of the protestors' testimony, seeking clarity on a number of possible areas of misconduct.

Friedman often returned to the issue of whether NYPD officers were wearing masks — witnesses reliably claimed they most often did not. Lynch repeatedly asked about what sort of warning protesters were given before police charged in to make the allegedly violent arrests. Very little, if any, was often the answer.

Protesters also detailed issues with the arrest procedures, noting that they were not Mirandized and were denied water and medical care while being held for hours in overcrowded transport vehicles and jail cells. Little attention was paid to COVID-19 concerns, many said, as few police officers wore masks and no masks were provided to detainees.

The testimonies were also supported by statements and evidence gathered by advocacy groups and nonprofit organizations including the National Lawyers Guild, which has deployed observers to the protests who have themselves been arrested, and the Legal Aid Society, which has represented many jailed during the protests.

Outside of the hearing, the New York City Council also passed a landmark bill on Thursday, the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act, which will require public disclosure of how the NYPD uses such tools to monitor residents, including protesters.

That action follows a suite of police reform bills recently passed in Albany, also in reaction to the protests.

At the close of the 17 hours of testimony on Thursday evening, just after 8:00 p.m., James promised to move forward with her inquiry.

"We will not prejudge the outcome of our investigation," James said, vowing to press on "until the truth is laid bare."

--Editing by Jay Jackson Jr.

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