Schoharie Citizens for Progressive Governance: DEMOCRACY REQUIRES JUSTICE

1 January 2019

Letitia James

New York Attorney General
The Capitol, Albany

NY 12224-0341

Attorney General James,

I read with considerable interest the following statement published on your campaign web page:

“...as Attorney General, reforming the criminal justice system will be one of my top priorities... I have fought for measures to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. ...when there is no accountability or transparency, incidents of misconduct are magnified and it becomes impossible for people to trust that the process is fair and the right result is being reached.”¹

Accordingly, I am hopeful your office will re-examine a decision made by the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit in 2016 concerning the death of motorist Joshua Camp who was struck by a pursuing Schoharie County Sheriff’s Deputy. At that time the SIPU declined to take the case under authority of the 2015 Executive Order #147.

I have been following this case for the past two years and have repeatedly advocated for an independent investigation. I have addressed the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors and the County Sheriff imploring them to request your office review this case. I have previously written Acting Attorney General Underwood asking the same but received no response. All my communications concerning the case can be accessed here: https://scfpg.blogspot.com/p/camp-homicide.html

In August 2018 I finally received the State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit Report concerning this incident². That report is glaring confirmation of the need for an independent investigation as required by the Governor’s Executive Order. My analysis³ of that report is enclosed. Documentation of two similar incidents is provided in which the SIPU has accepted responsibility for conducting investigations; the Oct. 2016 Corbitt case in Dutchess County, and the Nov. 2018 Roldan case in Schoharie County.

My report, “NY State Police, Police Pursuit Fatal Collision Report, The Joshua C. Camp Case: An Analysis” is provided for your edification and action as appropriate. The document is provided because the circumstances and facts it reveals are persuasive evidence of the need for your agency’s intervention.