LOS ANGELES – Today, in response to reports that high-level staff of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office internally discussed ways to continue seeking old bail amounts, in contravention of emergency judicial orders aimed at easing jail crowding amid the pandemic, George Gascón released the following statement:
“Prosecutors are supposed to follow the laws, not find ways around them,” said former District Attorney and Assistant Chief of the LAPD, George Gascón. “Government has a primary duty to protect and promote the health and safety of our community. In spite of this responsibility, an emergency judicial order, and DA Lacey’s publicly stated support for reducing the jail population to reduce the threat of the pandemic, these emails suggest her office privately prioritizes punishment of low-level offenses instead of the public’s health and well-being. These policies could result in low-level offenders being exposed, or exposing, a high-risk population, which unnecessarily exacerbates the risk that Coronavirus will spread and infect the broader community. This isn’t the first time that these backwards priorities have been exposed. It’s time for an urgent course change, not more lip service.”
###
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.