NEW YORK (PIX11) -- With the Manhattan D.A. on the defense, Alvin Bragg broke his silence Friday, about his office’s decision to release the men accused in the brutal beating of two NYPD cops.
It comes after mounting judgment from the governor and New York Attorney General earlier in the day.
“Bail should have been set. It was a serious felony. Why it wasn’t set I do not know,” James lamented.
“Right now, they should be sitting in Rikers [island],” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Mr. Bragg then answered reporters in his office after last weekend's Times Square cop beatdown was caught on camera. Feeling pressure to quell outrage, he explained why his office released all but one of the six suspects arrested.
“The important thing is to hold the right people accountable for the right conduct. It's the bedrock of our system,” Bragg said.
NYPD sources believe four of the suspects already skipped town and reportedly boarded a bus out of state ahead of their next court dates in March.
"They walk out the door and literally gave us the middle finger to our city,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol, John Chell.
It’s created a bigger debate about bail and whether the migrant men seeking asylum - should be deported.
“Get them and send them back,” Gov. Hochul said in an unscripted moment Thursday.
Then she didn’t hold back, expressing her frustration over how the case was handled by state prosecutors. Both Democrats supported bail reform laws but now are at odds over this case.
“That is something I want to talk to the DA about his options here,” Hochul said.
After that, the two met in the city on Friday afternoon. Bragg personally defended the no-bail decision to the governor and New Yorkers and went before television cameras.
"This is the beginning of the process. We will go for indictments and hold those accountable who did these heinous acts," Bragg said.
He pointed out, the man alleged to be the main aggressor is still locked up on Rikers Island.
NYPD detectives have vowed to scour the globe for the remaining suspects who attacked two of their own.
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