Violence, drugs and human trafficking are some of the main problems plaguing Atlantic County, the new prosecutor said shortly before he was sworn in.
Damon Tyner took the oath Wednesday morning before Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury, his former boss in his recently vacated position as a criminal court judge, becoming the first African-American to hold the office.
Tyner saw the impact of violence and the opiate problems first hand as cases were brought before him during his time on the bench.
“I think the opiate problem has more of an impact on the community than the common citizen realizes,” he said. “I’ve seen the drug problem just destroy families, destroy people.”
Tyner is looking to implement some of the measures taken by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, which has led the way in the state for tackling the drug problem.
As Joseph Coronato has done, Tyner says his office will now keep track of overdoses in the area, which previously were documented only by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Atlantic City native brings a unique perspective to the office, having served on the criminal bench first.
It’s not unheard of, he points out. Camden and Hudson counties prosecutors also moved from the bench to the prosecutor’s office.
But it did give him some insight into how those working for the office he heads do their jobs, as many of the assistant prosecutors appeared before him in court.
“But I’m just wiping the slate clean,” Tyner said, as he talked of the issues he’s seen affecting the area.
While the drug and violence problems have garnered a lot of attention, human trafficking is one that has “kind of flown under the radar,” he said.
As a judge, Tyner oversaw one of the first expungements for prostitution charges.
A state statute recognizes that many women are forced into sex work, so the program allows them to have their records cleared for these charges after meeting the required criteria.
Tyner comes from a family of public servants. His father, Hank, was an Atlantic City councilman and police officer. His brother Mike Graham recently retired from the Atlantic City Police Department, where he worked many years with the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit. Another brother, Clayton Graham, is a judge in North Carolina.
Tyner said his late mother, Beatrice Tyner, was his hero. She had six children when her first husband, Atlantic City Police Officer Clayton Graham, was killed in the line of duty. Mike Graham was just 18 months old.
She later married Hank Tyner.
"We're just so blessed to be able to come back (to where they're from)," said the new prosecutor's wife, Nicole Milan-Tyner. "We always said, when you come back you need to give back. He's committed to doing just that."
"The two are high school sweethearts from competing high schools — Tyner graduated from Holy Spirit while his wife went to Atlantic City High School. Their three children — Chelsea, 18; Chloe, 17, and Nicholas, 12 — also were there to watch their father sworn in Wednesday.
"We're just really proud of him," Chloe Tyner said.
In addition to a new prosecutor, the county also got a new first assistant prosecutor, Cary Shill, who has prosecuted several high-profile cases in the county.
Diane Ruberton, who has been acting prosecutor since Jim McClain left to become a judge last year, was sworn into a new position of deputy first assistant prosecutor, along with Mario Formica. Ruberton created the positions in her time as acting prosecutor, Tyner explained. He said he felt that she and Formica offer unique talents that will serve the new positions well.
In his first act as prosecutor, Tyner also swore in the investigators for his office.
"I want to put all of you in the position of being the best assistant prosecutors, the best investigators that you can be," Tyner told the group. "You will have our full faith that you will get all the support you need to carry out your duties... Now let's get to work."
