LOS ANGELES — Today, George Gascón called on District Attorney Jackie Lacey to immediately pause all prosecutions where an officer under investigation for falsifying field interview cards during stops and inputting incorrect information about those questioned is a material witness.
“Police are the guardians of our community,” said former District Attorney and Assistant Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, George Gascón. “When our guardians betray the public’s trust it is incumbent upon the District Attorney to safeguard the integrity of the system by ensuring that betrayal does not undermine the fair administration of justice. Therefore, DA Lacey must pause any prosecution where one of the officers under investigation is a material witness. Additionally, if these allegations are found to be true, the office must conduct a thorough review of every conviction in which these officers were involved in order to determine whether the evidence still supports a conviction. Such a review is imperative in order to restore community trust, as any conviction obtained in reliance upon uncorroborated evidence by an officer who falsified evidence would likely need to be dismissed. Convictions secured with tainted evidence are a miscarriage of justice and a stain on the system’s moral authority.”
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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.