Just days after Kenneth P. Thompson, the 50-year-old District Attorney from Brooklyn, announced he would temporarily step aside to fight cancer, he died Sunday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Thompson’s death comes days after he took a leave of absence from the Kings County District Attorney’s Office to battle his ailment. In a statement Tuesday, Thompson didn’t specify what type of cancer he had or any timeframe for treatments.
His family said in a statement Sunday that he was surrounded by loved ones when he died at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.
“I am profoundly saddened,” Gov. Cuomo said. “Ken was a dedicated public servant who embodied the highest principles of the law.”
Cuomo ordered flags to fly at half-staff Monday.
“With a life and promise cut far too short, our city was blessed with but a glimpse of Ken’s unwavering commitment to justice,” Mayor de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray said in a statement.
Aric Chen
Editor