A new candidate for Douglas County District Attorney announced his run over the weekend, the first to file for a position that’s been held by incumbent Charles Branson for more than a decade.

Cooper Overstreet announced he was running Saturday. He has been an criminal defense lawyer at the Swain Law Office in Lawrence since 2014.

“I will work to build a local criminal justice system that values humans over convictions,” Overstreet said in a video announcing his run.

Overstreet said he hopes to create an anti-racism task force that would investigate racial disparities in the Douglas County criminal justice system. He would create a list of police officers with a history of misconduct from whom he wouldn’t accept testimony. He said he would also re-train police to investigate sexual violence in a “trauma informed way,” according to his campaign website.

Reached by phone Monday, Overstreet declined further comment.

The district attorney’s office, located in Lawrence, underwent changes in February revising its approach to sexual violence cases.

It hired a national expert, Thomas Tremblay, to create a comprehensive training program for local law enforcement, prosecutors and agencies to support survivors of sexual assault. The office also started requiring its prosecutors, and victim and witness coordinators, take a training course on trauma-informed sexual assault investigations.

The changes came after The Star reported on a woman Douglas County prosecutors accused of falsely reporting a rape. After questions were raised about the case, Branson dropped the charges against that woman and two others accused of making false reports.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson has held the position since January 2005. He’s historically run unopposed, according to county election records.

Douglas County Deputy of Elections Heather Dill said Monday no one else — including Branson — has filed for the county’s district attorney seat.

Branson said Monday he would make a decision next week about whether he intends to run for re-election, after he talks to his staff and family.

“I will say the people of Douglas County have been well served by the attorneys and staff of this office,” Branson said in an email to The Star. “I believe the criticism aimed at this office and those that work with me is misdirected, shortsighted and uninformed.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Candidate files for Douglas County DA position held by Branson for more than a decade."