Eve Hendricks, mother of a rising Bronx basketball star killed in 2020, criticized Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a pro-police rally Thursday for refusing to overhaul the bail reform legislation passed under her predecessor, former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“Maybe because it’s not their children that are getting killed,” Hendricks said, according to the New York Post. Hendricks’ 17-year-old son Brandon was struck in the neck by a stray bullet and died just one week after graduating from James Monroe High School, the outlet reported.
BRONXVILLE, NEW YORK – JULY 15: Isaiah Campbell signs a basketball for his friend and former teammate Brandon Hendricks-Ellison during a funeral for the young basketball star who was fatally shot in the Bronx days after graduating from high school on July 15, 2020 in Bronxville, New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The slain teen’s mother blamed the rise in crime on Hochul and Democratic lawmakers, the Post reported. She also criticized Hochul for failing to strengthen the state’s bail laws, according to the outlet. “We need the governor to look into it,” Hendricks said. “She’s running but she’s avoiding it — and that should be a big thing that is on her agenda.” (RELATED: ‘I’m Worried’: Democrats Are In Crisis Mode As Kathy Hochul Struggles In New York Governor’s Race)
Hendricks’ call for action echoed those of an upstate police chief just one day earlier, according to a New York Post exclusive. Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould pressed the governor to support law enforcement, according to the Post. “Help us by allowing judges to consider someone’s dangerousness when they make a determination whether someone should be released or should be held in custody,” Gould pleaded.
New York’s 2019 bail reform law eliminated cash bail for all but the most serious felonies and misdemeanors, Politico reported. Hochul and her administration have rejected calls from cop-turned Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams for a special session to enact stricter pre-trial detention, according to the outlet.
“We’ve seen the enactment of progressive, woke, ultra-liberal laws that give criminals more rights than victims, that make us less safe in our communities,” Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said, speaking at the same rally as Hendricks.