In his transition to president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, Erie County DA John J. Flynn says he will continue to combat what he says is a “false narrative”—that prosecutors’ primary objective is throwing people, mostly those of color, in jail.

The Erie County DA since January 2017, and whose office prosecuted a racist mass shooter in Buffalo, said he pushed against that perception during his year as president of the National District Attorneys Association, a role he’s vacating this week.