Suffolk DA Defends Policies: 'Not Everyone Gets The Benefit Of The Baker Family'

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins is defending her criminal justice plan after it was criticized by a top state official.

Rollins was elected to the post last year and is seeking ways to curb mass incarceration and racial disparities in the system, in part by declining to prosecute certain drug possession crimes and some other minor crimes.

Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety and Security Thomas Turco said Thursday that Rollins' proposal could hurt efforts to curtail the opioid crisis and "restrict government's ability to protect victims threatened with serious crimes."

READ: Letter From Turco To Rollins

On Friday night, Rollins fired back at the Baker administration and defended her policies.

"I don't want my money over policing and over prosecuting certain sections of Suffolk County when we can't solve the homicides and the shootings there," Rollins said.

She also took a shot at the governor's family.

"Not everyone gets the benefit of the Baker family when they have interacted with the criminal justice system," Rollins said. "They don't get to not get arrested, have the State Police that reports to them, handle the investigation etcetera. Most moms that are living in Suffolk County don't have a $1000 lawyer to handle a charge when it's brought against their son or daughter or loved one."

Gov. Baker's son, A.J., was accused of groping a woman on a flight last year. Sources say police spoke to the alleged victim and took Baker off the flight, but he was not arrested or summonsed to court.

Gov. Baker's office responded Friday night.

"The administration does not engage in personal attacks, and raised specific and legitimate public safety concerns that could affect the residents of the Commonwealth," Baker spokeswoman Lizzy Guyton said. "We hope for an ongoing, productive dialogue on the important issues raised by Secretary Turco."

Rollins noted no one from the governor's office had called her to voice any concerns about her policies before the letter was sent.

Rollins, the first black woman to serve as DA in the county that includes Boston, said she welcomed Turco's viewpoint but added that voters want the "bold changes" she has proposed.

Turco did praise Rollins for seeking innovative approaches to criminal justice issues.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)