Los Angeles Magazine: Covina City Council Issues Vote of ‘No Confidence’ in DA
UPDATE: MAY 5, 2021 – The City of Covina has become the latest to pass a resolution expressing “no confidence” in District Attorney George Gascón, following a three-to-one vote at last night’s meeting of the Covina City Council.
The symbolic resolution, similar to ones previously passed by several other cities within Los Angeles County, stems from controversy over the new DA’s criminal justice reform efforts. In particular, directives from the DA to not prosecute certain low-level offensives and not apply sentencing enhancements.
“Last night, our council voted to communicate with our District Attorney in a public and direct way. I know that our council voice may be lost in the bigger discussions taking place, but I and my colleagues are hearing concern, fear, and anger from our community around Mr. Gascón’s directives,” Covina City Councilman John King told Los Angeles. “Our action has no immediate impact other than to give voice to those that are fearful that Gascón’s directives will continue to erode the quality of life in our communities.”
At the meeting, council members heard from members of the public and local police, and had an opportunity to question a representative for the DA.
“Covina believes in having a quality of life for citizens,” Councilman Walter Allen III said during the session, mentioning issues in Covina including public defecation, drug sales, and graffiti. “Our citizens don’t like the idea of these so-called ‘lightweight misdemeanors’ not being filed by our police department.”
Gascón spokesman Max Szabo responded by stating that, while he understood the concern over those “quality of life” issues in the community, criminal prosecution may not be the best solution to every dispute.
“We would be foolish to think that the criminal justice system and applying criminal convictions to low-level behavior–which precludes people from employment and housing opportunities and is also a primary driver of recidivism–is not exacerbating our homeless epidemic,” Szabo said.
Daily Wire: Three More Cities Vote ‘No Confidence’ In Progressive L.A. County D.A. Amid Recall Threat
As organizers of an effort to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón say they are working closely with county officials to finalize the petition, three more cities declared “no confidence” in the progressive prosecutor this week.
“City leaders are beginning to see what citizens and victims have known: George Gascon threatens the safety of our communities with his pro-criminal policies and actions,” read an email blast from Victims of Violent Crime for the Recall of District Attorney Gascón. “Together, we can recall George Gascon and stop his soft on crime policies that are not providing justice for victims.”
Lancaster, La Mirada, and Whittier city councils all approved resolutions on Tuesday night, following previous similar moves by elected leaders in Beverly Hills, Pico Rivera, and Santa Clarita.
“The City Council’s that have pursued these symbolic, pointless, and partisan attempts to aid a floundering recall effort are tiny islands of red in LA County’s sea of blue,” Max Szabo, who has served as a spokesman for Gascón, told The Daily Wire. “Like the tough-on-crime policies of the 1980s and 1990s which focused on punishment at the expense of our safety, racial disparities, and limited public resources, they are destined to fail miserably.”
Daily News: LA County DA is center stage in national revolution to reform justice system
America’s criminal justice system is in the throes of a revolution.
From Chicago to Philadelphia and Boston to San Francisco — and now Los Angeles — voters have elected progressive prosecutors committed to undo the “tough-on-crime” strategies that disproportionately penalize the poor and people of color.
They believe the current justice system is more concerned with punishment than rehabilitation, fostering in some courthouses a win-at-all-costs attitude among prosecutors who count their career successes by their number of convictions. The alternative, critics say, is a criminal-friendly system that preys on law-abiding citizens.
Both sides in this revolution concede change is needed, but they differ on the extent. One lightning rod in the national debate is newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who with 10 million constituents has the largest district of any in the nation.
Love him or hate him, many say Cuban-born Gascon, 67, is one to watch in this tug-of-war over American jurisprudence.
“There are many who are looking at Los Angeles as a bellwether,” said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, a national network of reform-minded elected prosecutors. “It’s not just the largest (territory), but it’s embracing the newest thinking. Above and beyond (Gascon’s) vision, he has tremendous fortitude with a compass that’s unwavering, and he has a tremendously good heart.”
Krinsky estimates about 70 progressive prosecutors have been elected in the United States. Gascon recognizes that he casts a broad shadow over them.
“It weighs heavily on me,” Gascon said in a recent interview with the Southern California News Group. “While I understand it’s a team effort (nationally), I recognize there’s a lot on my shoulders.”
San Fernando Sun: Victims’ Families Want to Recall LA County District Attorney
Jonathan Lloyd McClinn, 30, died on Jan. 31, 2020, after being shot 12 times at close-range — including three gunshots to the head — in the 15800 block of Stagg Street in Van Nuys.
Solorzano said the DA’s office has not included enhancements in the charges against McCallip, such as the commission of a crime with a gun and being a gang member.
The result is that — if convicted — the alleged attacker could serve 15 years or less behind bars.
“It breaks my soul. We’re dealing with trauma,” said Solorzano, who wears a necklace with a pendant containing McClinn’s ashes.
“I dream of him and he’s dead in my dreams, so my heart hurts,” she said.
Daily Bulletin: La Mirada, Whittier cast votes of no confidence against LA County DA
La Mirada and Whittier city councils joined three other cities — the most recent was Pico Rivera — in casting votes declaring “no confidence” in Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
La Mirada’s vote on Tuesday, April 27 was 4-0 — Councilman Anthony Otero recused himself because his wife is a deputy district attorney.
Whittier’s vote the same night was 4-1. Councilman Henry Bouchot provided the lone no vote.
The cities of Beverly Hills and Santa Clarita approved similar resolutions.
An email to Gascón’s office seeking comment Wednesday wasn’t answered.
In earlier articles, Alex Bastian, special advisor to Gascón, has, defended the DA’s record. “The District Attorney is very focused on enhancing public safety, increasing equity, expanding victim services and strengthening police accountability, Bastian wrote. “The policies implemented over the last few months go to furthering these core principles for all Angelenos, including La Mirada residents.”
In both cities, council members criticized Gascón for his new policies of not prosecuting numerous misdemeanor cases, including disturbing the peace, driving without or on a suspended license, drug and paraphernalia possession, littering, loitering to commit prostitution, making a criminal threat, minor in possession of alcohol, public intoxication, resisting arrest, trespassing and under the influence of a controlled substance.
“What kind of message are we sending by being lenient on our criminals?” Whittier Councilman Fernando Dutra asked. “If you’re a criminal you can get away with more.”
In Whittier, about 200 cases involving these crimes since December haven’t been filed by the District Attorney’s Office, Whittier Police Chief Aviv Bar said. The majority of these are for drug possession, for being under the influence and for possession of drug paraphernalia.
NBC News: Los Angeles D.A. was voted into office on pledge to reform the system, but critics say he’s going too far
LOS ANGELES — Less than three months after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was sworn in, victims advocates and members of law enforcement agencies gathered outside his office to demand his removal.
Their dissatisfaction led to an organized recall effort against Gascón, who ran on a progressive campaign to bring sweeping change to the country’s largest prosecutor’s office. But critics want him out, saying he prioritizes criminals over victims, making the county a less safe place to live.
As calls to reform the criminal justice system grow louder across the country, Gascón’s predicament exemplifies the difficulties district attorneys face in trying to heed those voices. Reform-minded district attorneys in San Francisco and Philadelphia are up against similar challenges as they try to introduce changes voters say they want, fueling tensions between tough-on-crime prosecutors and district attorneys looking to take a more holistic approach to law enforcement.
“Gascón said, ‘I am the change candidate,’ and voters still put him in office, to change policy,” said Jody Armour, a law professor at the University of Southern California. “When he changes the policy in the office, to have him then recalled for doing what he was elected to do would be perverse, and it will send a signal to future candidates.”
Supporters of Gascón praise his commitment to quickly overhaul a system that has disproportionately affected people of color for generations and say he is a welcome change from the last district attorney, Jackie Lacey, who refused to prosecute police officers accused of using excessive force or who had killed civilians.
LA Times: DA’s new vision for taking on L.A. County gangs draws confusion, criticism
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón says he’s going to fundamentally change the way the largest prosecutor’s office in the nation handles gang crime.
After weeks of rumors that he would eliminate the office’s Hardcore Gang unit — long a treasured spot for veteran prosecutors hoping to take on some of the most violent crimes in Southern California — Gascón finally confirmed Tuesday the unit would be reduced in size, renamed and reorganized.
The new Community Violence Reduction Division will “integrate the most serious gang crimes and most prolific violent offenders with prevention, intervention and community involvement efforts,” according to a copy of an internal memo reviewed by The Times. The new unit will have 26 prosecutors, as opposed to the 40 who staffed the prior unit, officials said.
Pasadena Now: District Attorney Announces Reorganization, Renaming of Hardcore Gang Division
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced today that the office’s Hardcore Gang Division has been renamed the Community Violence Reduction Division as part of a reorganization that will embed prosecutors in some of the county’s most challenged areas.
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Eric Siddall, vice president of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys, the union representing county prosecutors, spoke out against Gascon’s plans earlier this month.
“The remarkable change is that at a time when gang murders are reaching levels that we haven’t seen in 10, 20 years, (Gascon) has decided to cut the gang unit to fulfill a political promise that he’s given to fringe groups,” he said.
“It is typical of what this administration does. It does not make decisions based upon public safety. It does not make decisions about what is good for the case,” said Siddall, who spent five years as a prosecutor in the gang division. “It makes decisions based upon what it feels will poll well with the public.”
Whittier Daily News: LA County DA details plans for new crime reduction division
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Tuesday formally announced a reorganization of the vaunted Hardcore Gang Unit to reduce crime in troubled neighborhoods.
The disbanded unit will be replaced by the newly established Community Violence Reduction Division, which will be staffed by experienced prosecutors who will collaborate with the Los Angeles Police Department and other community partners, Gascón said in a statement.
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Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys in Los Angeles County and a former Hardcore Gang Unit prosecutor, believes Gascon’s approach is misguided and politically motivated.
“Mr. Gascón decimated the gang division to fulfill reckless political promises to special interest groups,” Siddall said. “He did this notwithstanding the rise of gang violence, especially in economically disadvantaged communities. Year to date, neighborhoods like Watts have experienced a 130% increase in homicides compared to last year.
“Now he is attempting to disguise this public safety blunder by rebranding the gang unit and embellishing on his achievements,” he said. “There is nothing new to his approach of embedding prosecutors in police stations. The only difference is that he is devoting fewer resources to combat an explosion of gang violence.”