Days ago we reported that the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office charged Michael Vaccaro with attempted assault in the third degree, Thursday, June 17th in connection with an incident that occurred in New Rochelle on February 15, 2021. That move proved the wrath of local PBA Presidents’ in New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, White Plains and we hear a statement is coming shortly from Keith Olson the PBA President of Yonkers.

What the PBA Presidents accusing DA Mimi Rocah of hunting police officers refuse to acknowledge the NRPD first found wrongdoing with Vaccaro’s actions, suspending him and turning over the evidence to the district attorney’s office. Yet they refuse to make any statement against the NRPD Police Commissioner and leadership.

But there are those who support the District Attorney’s office, including the New Rochelle chapter of the NAACP;

“If confidence and trust are to be restored in our police departments than the community must be assured that justice for all is indeed an integral part of the criminal justice system,” New Rochelle NAACP chapter president Minister Mark McLean shared with Black Westchester.

The latest to show their support is the Westchester Coalition for Police Reform (WCPR). The WCPR shared the following statement with Black Westchester.

The Westchester Coalition for Police Reform (WCPR) supports District Attorney Rocah’s decision to charge off-duty Det. Michael Vaccaro with attempted assault in an incident that occurred on February 15. We are reassured to know that DA Rocah, who commended the on-duty officers at the scene, is pursuing this matter and is determined to hold all people, including police officers, accountable for their actions.

The Westchester Coalition for Police Reform (WCPR) is a group of concerned community organizations, religious institutions and individuals who share a vision to help build safe communities, with improved community-police relations and greater police accountability and transparency.

While police benevolent associations throughout the county are attacking DA Rocah, many in the community who have been fighting for criminal justice reform stand in support of the new District Attorney including the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc. (NABLEO) who released a statement of their own (see below).

Stay tuned to Black Westchester for more on this developing story!