Being poor is not a crime. The actions of the NYPD in this video are appalling and contemptible. Letitia James More Quotes by Letitia James More Quotes From Letitia James I've been independent all of my life. Letitia James my-life been independent life The reality is that I've been counted out for a very long time and people continue to underestimate me and I continue to overperform. Letitia James me time long people The Office of Attorney General should be independent and the Office of Attorney General should have the power to investigate without the approval of the governor of the state of New York. It's absolutely critically important. Letitia James new office important power I've got a moral center. Letitia James center got moral I come from humble beginnings myself. Letitia James beginnings come myself humble I've known struggle. Letitia James known struggle I just try to fight for the underdog, and try to fight for those who are locked out of the sunshine of opportunity. Letitia James fight try sunshine opportunity All of my life and particularly throughout of my public career, I have been talking about the feminization of poverty. And one of the manifestations of the feminization of poverty is the issue of pay inequality in our society. Letitia James my-life poverty society life We have these events, 'Talk to Tish.' They're basically kitchen-roundtable discussions about issues in the City of New York, because you can learn more by listening. Letitia James city new you listening I come from a long line of very strong, tough women. We stick to our principles and stand up for what we believe in, which is fundamental fairness, which is my raison d'etre. Letitia James women strong long believe The scales of justice often, in my head, are unbalanced. And so my job is to try to balance out those scales. Letitia James job try balance justice I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Letitia James spoon mouth silver born I come from a family of eight on public assistance, my parents were separated. My mother struggled, my father struggled. Letitia James parents family mother father I know what it's like to be on public assistance and to be unemployed. And I know what it's like to be evicted. Letitia James public like know unemployed Part of the reason why I wanted to be involved in politics was to create and be a part of policy changes. Letitia James changes create politics reason Like with all other crime, we must, of course, treat the perpetrators of these actions as the criminals they are. But unlike with the vast majority of other crime, justice is not delivered simply by punishing the perpetrator. This is because the harm associated with domestic violence extends far beyond the point of contact. Letitia James treat crime violence justice Children of domestic violence, of course, suffer terrible consequences. Letitia James suffer consequences violence children