Not Above the Law:

Prosecuting Police Misconduct

Thursday, July 28, 2024 • 4:00pm EST

The Institute for Innovation in Prosecution and the Prosecutors Alliance are co-hosting an important webinar to guide state attorneys general and local prosecutors in how to prosecute individual cases of police misconduct. Our panel features leaders in the prosecution reform and police accountability space, including:

  • Keith Ellison, Attorney General, MN

  • Diana Becton, District Attorney, Contra Costa County, CA;

  • Michelle Monterrosa, Co-Founder, The Sean Monterrosa Project; and

  • Seth Stoughton, Professor of Law, University of South Carolina

Our webinar's esteemed presenters - including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office successfully prosecuted Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd - will provide comprehensive strategies and tools for how attorneys general and local prosecutors can effectively approach, work through, and try cases against police officers. 

Prosecuting cases of police violence and misconduct is tremendously challenging as these cases pose unique considerations for prosecutors. Few police officers who have been prosecuted for homicide have been convicted at trial, and too often prosecutors at both the state and local level are reluctant to bring charges and try officers who have inflicted criminal harms. This webinar will build off of our recent publication series as part of its State Attorneys General Police Oversight and Accountability Network on how attorneys general can effectively prosecute police officers for misconduct as well as the Prosecutors Alliance's 2023 conference on prosecuting police violence.

Keith Ellison

Minnesota Attorney General

Attorney General Ellison has served as Minnesota's Attorney General since 2019. He is the lead prosecutor in the matter of the May 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and led the team that successfully convicted former Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin on a charge of second-degree unintentional murder, which resulted in the longest sentence of any police officer for killing a civilian while on duty in Minnesota. Attorney General Ellison also led the team that successfully prosecuted former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter on a charge of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the matter of the April 2021 death of Daunte Wright.

Diana Becton

District Attorney, Contra Costa County, CA

Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton has spent most of her professional career as a judge, lawyer, and manager. In 2017, she was sworn in as the 25th District Attorney for Contra Costa County. Following her appointment from the Board of Supervisors, she was elected to the position in June 2018. District Attorney Becton served for 22 years as a judge in Contra Costa County, where she was elected as Presiding Judge. She is Past President of the National Association of Women Judges, the nation's leading voice for women in the judiciary, and Past Chair of the State Bar Council on Access and Fairness. 

District Attorney Becton leads a prosecutorial office of approximately 232 lawyers, investigators, and staff. She is the first woman, the first African American, and the first person of color to serve as Contra Costa District Attorney since the office was established in 1850.

Michelle Monterrosa

Co Founder, The Sean Monterrosa Project

Michelle Monterrosa is the eldest sibling to her sister, Ashley Monterrosa and her brother, Sean Monterrosa, who was shot and killed by a Vallejo police officer in June of 2020. Since her brother's death, Michelle has fought tirelessly to bring justice and national awareness to her brother's case, vowing that her family will be the last one impacted by the Vallejo Police Department. Michelle is continuing her studies, and hopes to receive her bachelor's degree in Latino studies with a minor in political science at San Francisco State University. As she pursues her degree, Michelle continues to advocate relentlessly for legislation and policy change in California and beyond in order to honor both her brother and the lives of others taken by police violence. While Sean's death initially propelled her towards her advocacy work, Michelle continues to fight for reform of the Vallejo Police Department.

Seth Stoughton

Professor of Law, University of South Carolina

Seth Stoughton is a Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he is the Faculty Director of the Excellence in Policing & Public Safety (EPPS) Program. He holds an affiliate position as a Professor in the university’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Seth’s scholarship on policing has appeared in the Emory Law Journal, Minnesota Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, and other top journals. He is the principal co-author of Evaluating Police Uses of Force (NYU Press 2020), and has written book chapters about police misconduct, the use of force, and use-of-force review. He is a frequent lecturer on policing issues; has regularly appeared on national and international media; has written about policing for The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, and other news publications; and has filed multiple amicus briefs to the Supreme Court. Seth has served as an expert in a number of high profile police cases, including testifying in the criminal prosecutions of Derek Chauvin, who was convicted for killing George Floyd, and Kim Potter, who was convicted for killing Daunte Wright, and providing expert analysis related to the police killing of Christian Glass and actions taken by the Seattle Police Department during the 2020 protests. He has testified for and against officers in both criminal and civil cases and provided independent investigation and review of use of force incidents.