LOS ANGELES – Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), who represents Angelenos from Inglewood to Torrance, threw her support behind George Gascón to be LA County’s next District Attorney.
“For decades the Los Angeles criminal justice system has divided Angelenos into two separate classes, communities of color and everyone else,” said Congresswoman Maxine Waters. “George Gascón has demonstrated his commitment to equal justice, having reduced the sentencing disparity between African Americans and Caucasians by half, eliminating the conflict of interest that existed when police investigated themselves in the aftermath of a police shooting, and by holding officers accountable who used excessive force. Los Angeles needs a 21st century system of justice, we need George Gascón.”
“Congresswoman Waters was on the ground during the Rodney King riots and knows that dark moment in our history was the result of a failure of leadership,” said former District Attorney and Assistant Chief of the LAPD, George Gascón. “The failure to hold police accountable, such as in the Brandon Glenn shooting or the battery of Marlene Pinnock by a member of the CHP, suggests Jackie Lacey is more interested in justifying excessive force than ensuring justice is applied equally. Failure to hold police accountable is dangerous, it destorys trust and signals to officers that they may use excessive force without consequence. That must change.”
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George Gascón grew up in Los Angeles after his family immigrated from Cuba. An army veteran, Gascón served as a Los Angeles Police Department Officer for 30 years, rising to the rank of Assistant Chief of Operations. In 2006 he became Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona, where he stood up to the hateful and anti-immigrant policies of then Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 2009, then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Gascón Chief of Police. Newsom turned to Gascón again in 2011 when he tapped him to be District Attorney to fill the seat vacated by an outoing Kamala Harris who had been elected Attorney General. During his tenure Gascón implemented reforms that are being duplicated across the country while overseeing violent crime and homicides drop to rates not seen in 50 years. After being elected to two terms, Gascón returned to Los Angeles to care for his elderly mother and to be closer to his two daughters and grandchildren in Long Beach. Gascón is married to Fabiola Kramsky, a three-time Emmy Award winning journalist and recipient of the “Premio Nacional de Periodismo,” the highest recognition given to journalists in Mexico.