Rachael Rollins
Reform-oriented DA would oversee 200 prosecutors
Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins is reported by multiple outlets to be under consideration for U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.
This is the highest law enforcement job in the state, and if hired, Rollins would oversee more than 200 federal prosecutors.
According to the Boston Globe, she was chosen by a search committee consisting of appointees designated by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey. The two are said to have interviewed candidates last week.
Rollins has emerged as a finalist in this process, along with three other lawyers, two who currently work in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and one former assistant U.S. attorney.
Rollins, a democrat and the first Black woman to serve as Suffolk County DA, won her seat in the 2018 district election by a landslide against Independent Michael Maloney.
Former federal Judge Nancy Gertner, who led the search committee, told the Globe that the choice was made before Rollins came under fire for two incidents in which she was accused of threatening individuals, the first occurring in a Stop & Shop parking lot and the second in front of her home.
A woman filed a report against Rollins after the alleged road rage incident, saying the DA threatened to arrest the woman, flashed her emergency lights and siren, cut the woman off and ran a red light. Attorney General Maura Healy is looking into the event, which took place on Christmas Eve, according to the woman’s account.
When approached about the situation, Rollins’ response drew more publicity. A video by Boston 25 reporters recorded Jan. 8 shows Rollins exiting her car without her mask on and scolding reporters for approaching her on private property. A Google Maps viewing of her street shows that her house resides on a private way.
“As a Black woman, at this time in this country, you want to put my [expletive] house on the screen? Get away from my family. Speak to me at my job. If I get hurt or harmed for this, you are on the record for that,” Rollins said to the reporter.
The next day, Rollins took to Twitter to address the issue.
“Earlier today a weird truck was in front of my house. When I walked out, a masked man got out of the car, mumbling something & quickly opened his trunk. He grabbed something large & dark & turned to me. I was terrified. My children were there. They were terrified. This is unreal,” she said via her account, @DARollins.
She mentioned white women who made headlines in the media for making allegations against Black individuals and putting their lives in danger by threatening to involve police.
“Some women have the luxury of saying whatever they want & being believed,” she wrote. “Amy Cooper, Miya Ponsetto, Carolyn Bryant Donham. Must be nice. The media just videotaped my home and my children are terrified. Funny, they’ve never come here to discuss homicides or the rising crime rate.”
Rollins later appeared on the Howie Carr Radio Network and denied the Christmas Eve allegations, and said the accuser came at her against the flow of traffic.
Should Rollins leave her post to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Governor Charlie Baker would appoint a replacement for Suffolk DA.
