George Gascon, the former Los Angeles police officer who is now running for Los Angeles County district attorney, emerged from the humblest of beginnings to become a real American success story.
I find his story deeply appealing. As a former public office holder, I take a somewhat different approach than others when evaluating a political candidate, especially when that candidate is seeking the county’s most important role in law enforcement.
Before examining the issues or sorting through the promises, I dig into the candidate’s background. I want to know everything I can about his or her formative years, in particular the values that were instilled from an early age.
Those values support core beliefs and shape behavior, especially in those unguarded moments picked up by a live mic or cellphone video. A political refugee from Cuba at 13, George struggled because he didn’t speak English. He dropped out of high school at 18 and joined the Army, where he found his calling.
George served as a military police officer in Germany, rising to sergeant during his three years of active duty. While in the Army, Gascon made up for lost time by earning his high school diploma.
After his discharge, Gascon became a Los Angeles police officer and steadily rose through the ranks to assistant chief, the No. 2 spot in the LAPD, leaving an imprint of change on a department notoriously resistant to reform.
As the commander of the LAPD Training Unit, his enlightened approach was noticed by law enforcement leaders in Washington, D.C., including Michael Gennaco, the former head of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, who recognized George for his impact on the department. Gennaco has a long history of acting as a watchdog for civil rights. Gennaco knows a thing or two about law enforcement in L.A. County, as he was the chief attorney of the Office of Independent Review for Los Angeles.
He fundamentally changed the way LAPD teaches its officers about civil rights,” Gennaco said.
As he was climbing the ranks of the LAPD, he was studying the law at night and in 1996 became a lawyer.
Yet, he didn’t trade in his badge for a cushy job at a name law firm. He left the LAPD in 2006 to become the police chief of Mesa, Arizona, where he continued his campaign to show that good policework does not sacrifice civil rights.
As DA in San Francisco, George advocated ending some of the most racially pernicious practices in the criminal justice system. He opposed cash bail and was one of the first voices to call for the wholesale dismissal of misdemeanor marijuana convictions, which mired a disproportionate number of African American men in the prison system. The former cop cracked down on bad officers whose abuses fell disproportionately on Black communities. He established an Independent Investigations Bureau to probe officer-involved shootings, allegations of excessive force, and in-custody deaths.
Now, Gascon has returned home to Los Angeles with the determination to oust an incumbent DA whose office has done virtually nothing when presented with compelling cases of police abuse.
That may be why former law enforcement colleagues up and down the state are treating him as the enemy, spending heavily to keep him from winning. Police organizations are expected to pour in as much as $5 million dollars more to make sure George does not win. Just last week statewide police unions poured another $1 million into the race. Will it make a difference? Not when it comes to George’s values. They’re not for sale. That’s why I urge you to join me in supporting George Gascon for DA on Nov. 3.
William Paparian, a criminal defense attorney, is the former mayor of Pasadena.
