Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson dies from cancer at age 50
The borough's first black district attorney passes far too soon
The family of Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson says he has died after a battle with cancer, just days after announcing he would be undergoing treatment.
Thompson died Sunday. He was 50. He had said last Tuesday that he would be taking a leave because of his illness.
Thompson took office in January 2014. His career also included working as a former federal prosecutor, where he prosecuted the case against a police officer accused in the 1997 assault of Abner Louima. In private practice, he represented Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel maid who accused former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault in 2011.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.