NYC (in)justice

From the NYT (Vance is Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan DA):

As the interview began, but before Mr. Vance was asked a question, he offered an unsolicited defense — not just of the Strauss-Kahn case, but of his overall stewardship. “Ultimately,” he said, “the success of a D.A.’s office, and of a D.A., is measured not in individual cases, but over time.”
“The cases you don’t read about,” he added, “define what the job of a D.A. really is.”

If New Yorkers want to judge Vance on cases they don't read about, here's one:

Couple of months ago a friend of mine was hit by a car on the street while he was guiding somebody else into a parking spot. He wasn't hit hard, or at least not hard enough to shut him up, since he commenced telling the driver what he thought of that particular maneuver. The driver's response was to get out of the car and start swinging.

Police were called; the driver took off. My friend's foot had been messed up and he ended up in the hospital.

The way these things usually go is - the cops show up hours later, reports are filed, and NY being NY, nothing is ever heard from anyone again. But in this case, the police were able to track the driver down and he ended up being charged with some sort of assault. Impressive work in an extremely minor case.

Story closed, right?

No. Months later, my friend gets a call from the local detective, who tells him he needs to turn himself in at the station house. He's being charged with assault.

Excuse me?

Since the police weren't at the "fight," the DA insists that both parties be charged with assault, says the cop.

What fight, says my friend. I got run over, then beat up.

Yeah, it's real bullshit, answers the cop. They're using you to teach us a lesson.

Sounds ridiculous, right? But that's how the Manhattan DA and his office operate every day in NY. Don't judge Vance by the high profile cases his office blows - judge him by the little crap he pulls that really shows how out of control he and his office are.

(The case has been adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, which itself is bs. Even though it's likely to disappear, he's still out a few days of work because the DA thinks that if you get run over and beat up, you oughta go to jail.)