NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Brooklyn DA says major issues with a kidnapping and rape case involving a pair of NYPD detectives, have prompted a request for a special prosecutor.
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Detectives Richard Hall and Edward Martins are accused of stopping a woman for having marijuana in her car in September 2017, handcuffing her, driving her through southern Brooklyn in a police van, and raping her.
Prosecutors say issues emerging since the detectives were charged in October 2017, have made it impossible for them to move along with the case.
Chief assistant DA Nancy Hoppock says a romantic relationship between a detective and a prosecutor in her office, 'false, misleading, and inconsistent' statements made by the accuser, hostility towards prosecutors on the accuser's part are preventing the office from proceeding in an ethical fashion.
"We regret that our continuing to pursue the case might well create an appearance of impropriety and discourage public confidence in our office and the Kings County criminal justice system," Ms. Hoppock wrote. "In the end, we want to see justice done."
Mark Bederow, a lawyer for the detectives, has made a similar request.
"They can't continue to prosecute this case when they're calling her a liar and she's accusing them of corruption," Mr. Bederow said. "We certainly hope that whoever steps in to evaluate this case will make appropriate decisions based upon the evidence, not based on external influences and politics."
Bederow says the prosecution's request makes it clear that they do not believe the accuser.
Hall and Martins have since quit the police force, but their attorneys have mounted a vigorous defense.
Defense lawyers have charged that the accuser has made numerous changes to her version of the incident including her clothing, the vehicle she was riding in, and which defendant assaulted her first. They have also presented evidence they say shows that neither detective was near where the trio allegedly drive during the assaults.
