Sarah Hacker aims to 'execute the law' if elected as district attorney
May 24—Attorney Sarah Hacker, who is seeking the Kings County District Attorney's seat in her first run for office, brings conviction to the goals she has set out in her platform "Justice for All".
Should she be elected on June 7, Hacker says she will put a strong emphasis on victim restitution and will crack down on agricultural theft and inmate assaults.
"My strengths lie in the law; I am committed to our constitution," Hacker said this week. "My job is going to be executing the law."
With the extensive agriculture in Kings County, Hacker also emphasized the importance of placing an investigator on the rural crimes unit.
"I have a lot of confidence in our law enforcement being able to crack down on these agricultural thefts, and part of that effort in doing so is going to be assigning a DA investigator to the rural crimes unit," Hacker said. "These investigators are peace officers whose primary purpose is to assist in the prosecution of crimes," she continued.
Hacker said the dedicated investigator would help ensure that investigations are properly done, and would act as an ambassador for the District Attorney's Office.
"I think we need to retool the office so that we have a better connection with victims to ensure we get the adequate receipts and invoices to put them in a place they were in financially before the crime occurred," she added.
Should Hacker be elected she said she intends to prosecute inmate assaults on jail staff, and that her commitment to all law enforcement officers being treated with respect and dignity extends to the detention deputies and their safety.
She explained that inmate assaults often involve bodily fluids and that she intends to treat such assaults as the severe crimes they are and prosecute accordingly.
"People acknowledge the importance of enforcing the laws outside of the jail, but it is just as important to enforce them inside of the jail," said Hacker.
Hacker said she always wanted to be a lawyer because she wanted to help others and advocate for them. Her commitment to public safety began on 9/11 when she was working in Congress for Eric Cantor, in Washington D.C.
"It was actually my first day at work and I was sitting at the receptionist desk and I saw the Pentagon burning down," Hacker paused and then added, "That intense experience taught me that there are people who have ill intent and we have to step up to them."
As the District Attorney, Hacker said she would work for speedier homicide prosecutions. Mentioning the Pate case from 2014 taking seven years to come to an end, Hacker expressed her concern that lengthy prosecutions are a disservice to the victims and to the community.
Hacker has stayed away from making her campaign about gender — if elected she would be the county's first female district attorney. That isn't why she's running, she said, explaining that she fights for everyone, not just women.
"We should have a justice system that's fair and equal. It's a living thing that is carried by the people who are a part of the system," Hacker said with conviction. "If the people are better the system will be too, we have to aim high to make a difference."
Hacker has been endorsed by Kings County Sheriff David Robinson.
