Months into the Crisis, DA Jackie Lacey Continues to Pursue Low-Level Misdemeanor Cases Including Loitering, Panhandling, and Public Intoxication, Forcing Public Servants into Dangerously Close Proximity
LOS ANGELES – Today, in light of the continued threat posed to our collective community from COVID-19, George Gascón issued a jarring rebuke of LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s response—or lack-there-of—to the crisis. While the entire State of California is under a shelter in place order, and the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, and deaths, continues to climb, DA Lacey continues to pursue cases including loitering, panhandling, public intoxication, and driving on a suspended license rather than postpone them until the pandemic is under control. Additional details on those cases are available by viewing George Gascón’s recommendations on arrest, detention, charging and reentry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Subjecting public employees to these risks in order to pursue low-level offenses is dangerously poor judgment,” warns former District Attorney and Assistant Chief of the LAPD, George Gascón. “The District Attorney has failed to appreciate the drastic risk to public health posed by pursuing non-violent offenses, thereby forcing public sector workers to assemble in crowded spaces in greater numbers. The DA must suspend the prosecution of all non-serious and non-violent offenses to avoid the risk of expsosure.”
Gascón’s decisive call to action illustrates a stark contrast between his approach and leadership and that of Jackie Lacey’s when it comes to the role of District Attorney, and particularly in the midst of a global crisis. George Gascón’s detailed policy statement covers urgent steps the DA and other system actors must take to reduce the threat posed by conducting business as usual. Those essential steps include:
- Delaying the prosecution of all non-serious and non-violent offenses.
- The District Attorney, Sheriff, and Probation Department must prioritize reentry services for our most vulnerable.
- Criminal justice stakeholders must protect our front-line officers, and law enforcement should be encouraged to minimize arrests and therefore contact in non-violent offenses.
- The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department must adopt cite-and-release policies for offenders posing no public safety threat.
- LA County Probation and county officials must immediately enact emergency measures for young people under probation custody and supervision.
To view the entire list of recommendations please click here.
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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.
For more information about George Gascón go to www.GeorgeGascon.org.