Last summer, the city police union called on the chief District Court judge to block Braverman from conducting bail review hearings after he released on bail a man accused of murder. The suspect, Demetrius Smith, is set to stand trial on that charge as well as an attempted murder charge in connection with a shooting that occurred after he posted bond.
A bail commissioner had ordered Smith held without bail after his arrest in the fatal shooting, and prosecutors requested that decision be upheld. Braverman set a bail at $350,000, which Smith posted.
According to a recording of the bail review hearing, Braverman lamented that there was scant information provided in the charging documents that accuse Smith of shooting Robert Long twice in the head, execution-style, on March 24. He described eyewitness accounts as "notoriously terrible" when told Smith was identified through witnesses and a photo array.
