Brooklyn, NY – Today, Nicholas Heyward Sr. and Hertencia Petersen endorsed Marc Fliedner for District Attorney. The message is clear – victims of police violence support Marc because he stands with them. These families recognize the DA’s office has failed in the past to properly investigate the police and that Marc alone can fix the office. Marc’s history prosecuting bad cops makes him uniquely qualified to be an advocate for families seeking justice. Marc knows the value of working with police but acknowledges the District Attorney’s office cannot work for the police.

Nicholas Heyward Sr. and wife Donna Heyward have emerged as community leaders for reforms within the DA’s office. Their investigation into their son’s death has sparked a movement of like-minded criminal justice advocates.

The Heyward’s struggle for justice has been well-documented by publications such as Vice and the New York Daily News.

Hertencia Petersen emerged as a vocal critic after her nephew Akai Gurley was killed by NYPD officer Peter Liang in 2014. “Marc showed genuine concern for Akai’s justice. He didn’t care what was politically popular. It’s clear that this District Attorney’s office is broken and if there is anyone I believe can fix it, it’s Marc”

Marc was featured in Brooklyn political blog KingsCountyPolitics. He discussed issues of bail reform and how we can fix the lack of leadership in the DA’s office presently.

 – “Fliedner also has ideas on bail reform and looking at the high levels of Brooklyn residents sitting in Rikers or at a detention center due to a lack of resources to pay small bail amounts, sometimes in the form of $250. One of his first steps if he were to become Brooklyn DA, would be to ensure ADA’s are making “appropriate and ethically based bail arguments.””

 – “…we have to make smart decisions about charging, about sentences that are constructive”

Read the full profile here.

This week, Marc spoke to POLITICO New York about why the status quote isn’t working when it comes to policing.

““I’m angry about the way this broken system continues to be, just, limping along without any prosecutors stepping up to the plate … to decide whether they will charge these minor offenses”

Read the full POLITICO New York article here.