You are reading

Queens DA Richard Brown Dies at 86

Queens DA Richard Brown passed away at the age of 86.

May 6, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, a long-time sufferer of Parkinson’s disease, died Friday night at the age of 86.

Brown served as Queens DA from 1991 until the time of his death.

In January, Brown announced that he would not be seeking re-election at the end of the year. Just two months later, he stated that he would be stepping down from his position in June due to increasing health problems.

“It had been my hope that I would be able to finish out this term in office,” Brown said at the time. “Unfortunately, that is not to be. Given the current state of my health and my ongoing health issues, it has become increasingly difficult to fully perform the powers and duties of my office in the manner in which I have done since 1991.”

During his time as DA, Brown created one of the state’s first Drug Courts, as well as Mental Health Courts and Veterans Court. He also oversaw the creation of a Domestic Violence Bureau, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Animal Cruelty Unit and, most recently, the Queens Treatment Intervention Program (Q-TIP), a new program aimed at addressing the opioid.

“Judge Brown loved working for the people of Queens,” said Chief Assistant DA John M. Ryan, who had recently taken on Brown’s responsibilities. “He would often be the first person in the office and very likely the last to leave every day—and sometimes on weekends too. He was known to visit crime scenes, meet with victims and work tirelessly to give them justice.”

Brown oversaw the prosecution of a number of high profile cases, including the charges against three police officers who shot and killed Sean Bell, an unarmed black man, outside a Queens strip club the day before his wedding. The trial resulted in no convictions.

Funeral services for Brown will be held on Tuesday May 7 at 11:30 a.m. at Reform Temple of Forest Hills, located at 71-11 112th Street.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

3 Comments

Click for Comments 
Tyronne Fauntleroy

RIP sir you wont be forgotten. Hopefully your replacement wont turn Queens into a toilet.

2
23
Reply
Timothy

Pretty big funeral procession. Every lawyer and politician in the borough has been walking up and down my street (112th) for the past 3 hours. I’m guessing he was a member of First Presbyterian?

Reply
Wolfsbane

Wasn’t this guy known for prosecuting anyone who dared running against him on spurious charges back in the 90s and 2000s?

14
Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Brooklyn man charged in viral Belt Parkway crash scheme captured on victim’s dashcam: DA

A Brooklyn man was criminally charged with staging a car crash on the Belt Parkway in Rosedale last month that was captured on the dashboard camera in the victim’s car and went viral on social media after it was posted on TikTok, where it was viewed by millions worldwide.

Maikel Martinez, 28, of 14th Avenue in Dyker Heights, was apprehended by law enforcement Thursday at JFK Airport after arriving back in Queens on a flight from Ecuador, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Friday.

SUV explosion rocks South Ozone Park street, damaging homes and vehicles on Friday morning: FDNY

A quiet residential street in South Ozone Park was rocked by a thunderous explosion on Friday morning after an SUV filled with dangerous construction materials detonated in front of 131-16 133 St. five blocks west of the Van Wyck Expressway.

The massive blast damaged five homes and brought down Con Edison power lines on the block and obliterated the vehicle that belonged to a plumber who lives there. No one was injured in the blast but several residents of the block were near the vehicle just before it exploded, officials said..