With a stellar history of being a top-flight prosecutor of crimes committed against children, former Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney, Ama Dwimoh, has her sights set on the bigger picture of how to run the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
Dwimoh is one of the many challengers to acting-Brooklyn D.A. Eric Gonzalez for the seat vacated last October following the untimely death of District Attorney Ken Thompson. She wants to fill a void in the Brooklyn criminal justice system she feels is hurting residents and creating a distrust for police and law enforcement.
Dwimoh is focused on the broken relationship between Brooklyn residents and law enforcement. She believes that in order to deliver equal and fair justice as a D.A., this relationship needs to be addressed and repaired.
“When I look at what’s going on in Brooklyn and what continues to go on in Brooklyn, it tells me that there’s a void. Whether they are adult systems or child systems, communities are hurting. There is a lack of trust that exist within the community and law enforcement and that’s a huge problem. Communities feel as if they’ve been betrayed. We can’t address the issues of crime unless we address the issues leading to crime,” said Dwimoh.
The veteran ADA sights ‘Stop & Frisk’ and the ‘Broken Windows’ policies as catalyst for the distrust in the social justice system. In 2013, the NYPD’s use of Stop & Frisk was officially ruled against after a federal court found it was used disproportionately in Black and Latino neighborhood.
“Sometimes just letting people know they matter can go a long way. When a police officer reaches a young person on the block, store owner, or a mom going by with her laundry and says good morning, how are you? That begins engagement, that begins a conversation. It is sad that we have young people and people in general who fear the police,” said Dwimoh.
In addition, to currently serving as a special counsel to Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams, who is in support of her candidacy, Dwimoh founded the Crimes Against Children Bureau as an ADA. She ran the bureau for 13 years while also serving as an Executive Assistant District Attorney.
Dwimoh sites her work prosecuting the Nixzmary Brown case as one of her greatest accomplishments in the bureau. Brown was a seven-year-old child who was beaten, tortured, molested and then murdered by her biological mother and stepfather.
The case brought national attention to City’s Administration for Children Services and a slew of reforms to the department.
Dwimoh believes that the DA’s office needs to change and start bridging the gap between high-risk communities and law enforcement agencies through partnership and collaboration. Dwimoh wants Brooklyn residents to once again value and believe in the integrity of the D.A.’s office to protect and support their rights.
While Brooklyn’s crime rate has been on the decline in the last couple of years, Dwimoh doesn’t necessarily believe this change means that justice is still being given out equally.
“I have a career where I handled every type of crime at the district attorney’s office,” said Dwimoh.
“This is all about delivering justice for all. I believe that has to be the goal of the district attorney. Justice for all boils down to being fairly and evenly given out. Brooklyn deserves it, and the community is crying out for it.”
