ADDA Urges Parole Board to Deny Freedom to Cop-Killer
By ADDA Board of Directors
The Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys strongly urges the state parole board to deny freedom for a woman who was convicted of the assassination of an LAPD officer in 1988.
On the night of September 3, 1988, Officer Daniel Pratt and his partner, Officer Veronica Delao Jenkins, were undercover in South Los Angeles when they heard what they thought was gunfire. They then encountered the headlights of the car that, just minutes before, had been involved in a gang-related drive-by shooting, leaving three people wounded. Upon pursuit, Brooks made an abrupt U-turn, and headed toward the officers. Brooks drove the wrong way down a one-way street so her gang-member boyfriend could shoot at the officers. Kirkton Moore fired at the officers from close range with an AR-15 rifle, killing Officer Daniel Pratt.
As the driver of the car involved in the shooting, Brooks was convicted of first-degree murder of a peace officer and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. She was denied parole when she first became eligible in 2010. Brooks was not supposed to be up for parole for another two years, but petitioned for an earlier hearing. Brooks claimed she was free of discipline, had gone through a rehabilitation program and earned an associate’s degree. The state parole board granted her request for an early hearing, which is scheduled to take place this month.
Justice demands that she be denied again.
Officer Pratt is survived by his wife, Andria; daughters, Amanda and Heather; and sons, Danny Jr. and Nicholas. Also surviving him are his parents, Joyce and Roy Pratt Sr., four brothers, three sisters, and a host of other loved ones.
Daniel Pratt’s brother, LAPD Captain Brian Pratt, told KABC-TV that he spoke to Brooks at a hearing several years ago and she showed no remorse for the killing. “She acted like she was trying to weep, but I don’t think she could even shed a tear when I was speaking to her. She just looked angry,” Pratt told the station. “You can’t just kill a policeman and expect to have the rewards of life that other people have.”
One might think that it’s a slam-dunk that the parole board will deny freedom to a cop killer. Think again. Last year, the Parole Board voted to release a convicted cop killer on parole, Jesus Cecena who was convicted of the “execution style” death of San Diego Police Officer Archie Buggs. It was only though the Gov. Jerry Brown reversing the decision that a cop killer is not free.
Any panel that can inexplicably vote to free one cop-killer can just as easily do so again. We need all of our members to write letters of opposition to the parole board, and to urge everyone you know to do likewise. Please make sure to cite Brooks’ CDC number of W40103. The address is:
Board of Parole Hearings
Attn: Pre Hearing Correspondence
P.O. Box 4036
Sacramento, CA 95812-4036
The Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) is the collective bargaining agent and represents nearly 1,000 Deputy District Attorneys who work for the County of Los Angeles.
