Rao was working for The Bronx Defenders.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: Two New York-based lawyers – including an Indian American Kumar Rao, and Ryan Napoli, who were employed with The Bronx Defenders, a criminal defense firm which is funded by the city, have resigned after it came to light that they featured in a vile music video calling for the killing of police officers.
Rao and Napoli resigned last week, according to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, reported NBC. The firm’s executive director, Robin Steinberg, has also been suspended for 60 days without pay and the organization will conduct mandatory training for employees and a review of its senior leadership and control structure.
The two attorneys participated in the video titled ‘Hands Up (Eric Garner Tribute)’ by Uncle Murda and Maino, and allowed The Bronx Defenders’ offices to be used in the filming despite knowing the song’s message, said reports.
Rao’s lawyer Charles Clayman announced the resignation, according to CBS. Rao says in the letter he is “heartbroken” to leave the agency. He regrets his involvement with the video and said he should have better vetted and put in writing that Bronx Defenders would have the right to edit it.
The Wall street Journal reported that in his January 30 resignation letter to Steinberg, provided by his attorney, Rao said he “thought participating in this music video project would advance the interests of the community we serve as well as the interests of the organization.”
He said he had been assured by the video’s producers that the organization could review the video and had tried for weeks to “disassociate” the group from the video after its release.
“To say that I regret our involvement with this video would be an understatement,” Rao said.
The resignations come amid heightened awareness of the tough job of the NYPD, and the hatred that was spreading against them, after the Eric Garner incident.
“If any of the employees are doing something that goes against all of our values — that suggests something horrible — violence against police – there have to be real consequences,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in January.
The film was released in December, just two weeks before the murders of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It includes images of guns held to a police officer’s head. Scenes were filmed inside the nonprofit’s offices, CBS reported.
The agency receives $20 million in city funding and de Blasio called the findings of a city investigation that exposed the link “deeply disturbing.
The Wall street Journal reported The Bronx Defenders would submit to an outside review, appoint a chief compliance officer or general counsel, and implement new training.
“The Board deeply regrets the organization’s association with the video and takes the DOI’S findings very seriously,” board Chairman Earl Ward wrote, adding that “corrective action is needed to maintain the public’s confidence in The Bronx Defenders.”
Liz Glazer, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, said her office and other city officials would oversee certain measures outlined in the plan, which are set to begin immediately, reported the Journal.
In a statement, the Bronx Defenders said the group “looks forward to continuing to do what we do best—providing zealous and compassionate legal representation and advocacy on behalf of 35,000 indigent residents annually.”
1 Comment
Good.