Three days into his tenure as Philadelphia’s district attorney, Larry Krasner asked 31 prosecutors and staff to resign. NBC10’s Drew Smith reports.
Three days into new Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's tenure, numerous assistant district attorneys found out they will not be part of his staff.
More than 30 district attorney staff — mostly assistant district attorneys — either resigned or let go, two sources with knowledge of the departures told NBC10 on Friday. Supervisors and prosecutors with caseloads that include homicide charges are reportedly among the departing prosecutors.
One assistant DA told Philly.com that he was scheduled to begin a homicide trial in two weeks.
Late Friday afternoon, Krasner's spokesman, Ben Waxman, confirmed 31 DA office staff were asked to resign as part of a restructuring.
The departures do not come out of the blue, as Krasner made it clear during his election campaign that he was running with a reform agenda that included some expected turnover in the ranks.
Krasner promised to shake up the office and implement new policies that focus on improving the justice system through changes to pre- and post-trial procedures like bail and probation, overhauling the civil forfeiture unit and working to change the relationship between law enforcement and the community.
Waxman reiterated that point in the office's statement.
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"Change is never easy, but DA Krasner was given a clear mandate from the voters for transformational change. Today’s actions are necessary to achieve that agenda," the statement read in part.
Still, it's been a turbulent last year for career prosecutors in the office who make up many of 294 attorneys in the DA's office. The entire staff under Krasner numbered 534 employees as of late 2017, according to city payroll data.
