LOS ANGELES – Today, George Gascón called on Attorney General Xavier Becerra to take over the investigation in the fatal officer involved shooting of Daniel Hernandez that occurred on April 23, 2020. The involved officer, Toni McBride, is the daughter of the Los Angeles Police Department’s union director, Jamie McBride, which creates a conflict of interest for both the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office (LADA).
“The Attorney General must take over this investigation due to the vast web of conflicts that are present,” said former District Attorney and Assistant Chief of the LAPD, George Gascón. “Police should never investigate themselves in the wake of a critical incident due to the inherent conflict of interest, but here that conflict is exceptionally pronounced. LAPD brass has to negotiate and work regularly and directly with the father of the officer under investigation. Additionally, the District Attorney has a multimillion dollar reason to continue looking the other way, and those millions are under the direction and control of the LAPPL and the father of the involved officer. Any investigation by the LAPD and charging decision by the District Attorney will be so severely tainted that the public would be justified in questioning its motivations and validity. In order to protect the public’s trust in law enforcement–and particularly at this historic moment in time–the LAPD must turn the investigation over to the Attorney General.”
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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 outgoing 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.
Mr. Gascón is endorsed by the LA Democratic Party, the LA Times, LA Daily News, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and many more.