FILE – In this March 1, 2016, file photo, then-candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Lawyers for Pennsylvania State Police are squaring off against a district attorney in court over a grand jury investigation that state police want to shut down.
State police argue the grand jury has no authority to investigate whether the agency should use outside law enforcement to probe shootings by troopers. Experts say police shooting investigations should be independent to ensure objectivity.
Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli convened the grand jury after state police refused to relinquish a trooper shooting investigation to him earlier this year. He says police shootings and how they’re investigated are issues of “high national interest and importance.”
State police want a judge to disband the grand jury. A judge will hear arguments on Friday in Easton.
