Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia. Photo: Google

An assistant Philadelphia district attorney and policy adviser to Larry Krasner was arrested Monday and charged with child endangerment for allegedly leaving her child in an unattended vehicle.

According to court records, Dana Bazelon was arrested near the 200 block of Rittenhouse Street near the Germantown section of Philadelphia and charged in connection with leaving her 4-year-old in a parked, unattended vehicle for more than 30 minutes. The report, which incorrectly refers to Bazelon as Dana Bazemore, also said the windows were open, "such that an adult male was able to reach inside and unlock" the vehicle.

The case is being handled by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

Bazelon is being represented by Greenblatt, Pierce, Funt & Flores attorney Jamie Funt. In an emailed statement, Funt said Bazelon exhibits the highest ethical standards in her work, and is known personally as a "doting and devoted" parent. Funt also said the child was never in harm's way.

"What is alleged was at worst a momentary lapse in judgement and simply does not reflect the kind, caring and nurturing mother she is," Funt said, adding later, "She cooperated fully with the authorities and will continue to respect the legal process. That is why we are confident that when all of the facts are revealed, her true nature will be vindicated."

Funt also said there has been no change in her employment status currently.

According to reports from The Philadelphia Inquirer and the BigTrial.net blog, Bazelon reported to police that she had taken her 6-year-old son for a walk in a nearby park and left her 4-year-old daughter in the car to sleep. The incident reportedly took place around 3:30 p.m.

The docket said Bazelon was charged with endangering the welfare of children, and released on her own recognizance Tuesday.

Bazelon is a policy adviser and supervising assistant district attorney for the early bail review and Gagnon hearings at the District Attorney's Office. Bazelon joined the prosecutor's office in January 2018, as part of the first round of people hired when Krasner took over as the city's top law enforcement officer.

Recently, Bazelon was a point person in the efforts to speed the review of prisoners who could potentially be released from Philadelphia jails as the coronavirus began to spread across the state. Although there were some clashes between the District Attorney's Office and the First Judicial District when it came to the speed of that process and the nature of the program the agencies wanted to see put in place, the parties came together in mid-April to begin ramping up reviews of candidates for release.

Bazelon is the second official with ties to the District Attorney's Office to face criminal charges in the last six months.

In December, former state Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell, D-Philadelphia, who had served as the District Attorney's Office's victim advocate until early last year, was charged with stealing more than $500,000 from a charity she ran, which was aimed at providing home health services for elderly people and those with mental health problems.

Johnson-Harrell was charged with theft, perjury and tampering with public records. She agreed to plead guilty in the case, and to resign from her House seat.

Before joining the District Attorney's Office, Bazelon clerked for U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, spent three years in the Defender Association of Philadelphia and worked at Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg.