By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Contributing Columnist
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón remains in an unenviable position. He’s damned when he does and damned when he doesn’t.
The “when he does” is in delivering on his long-standing promises to crack down on police misconduct cases. The “when he doesn’t” is when he doesn’t file charges against individual officers who abuse their badges.
Two examples: He filed charges against a bunch of California Highway Patrol officers for manslaughter in the death of George Bronstein in 2020; he did not file charges — yet — against officers who gunned down double-amputee Anthony Lowe in Huntington Park in February.
While he was praised for filing charges against the CHP officers, critics asked, “Can he win convictions against them?” They claim that his track record here is poor, the implication being that his office files these charges more out of a public relations show rather than a real belief that he can convict the officers. Of course, he took heat for not filing charges in the Lowe case.
Almost certainly there will be a slew of challengers against him in his reelection bid next year. In addition, he is survived recall efforts; all targeted him under the guise that he is too soft on crime.
The recall hit on him was not undertaken by a public outraged about an issue; it was a well-funded and well-orchestrated campaign by prison guard associations, police unions and victims’ rights groups, disgruntled deputy district attorneys and a legion of conservative talking heads to nail Gascón.
Their alleged beef with him was and still is that his reforms will swing the prison and jail gates wide open and unloose hordes of dangerous criminals back on the streets. It’s a near-textbook, scare and fear-mongering campaign stuffed with the usual healthy dose of half-truths, distortions and out-and-out lies about Gascón’s proposed reforms.
His greatest sin to them remains that he believes district attorneys should not simply be about the business of locking up as many folk as possible, the overwhelming majority of whom are poor, Black and Hispanic. He is one of an increasing number of reform-minded district attorneys nationally, who believe that equal protection under the law is something more than just noble words on a scrap of paper.
This means enforcing the law in a fair, impartial, even-handed, and — most importantly — just way.
That is just the starting point to try and make sense of why Gascón instantly raised the hackles of the right and the old-guard law enforcement establishment. Traditionally, district attorneys are a fixed extension of policing.
Their mandate is a single-minded focus on prosecutions, convictions and maximum incarceration for offenders. Their tunnel-vision approach to the criminal justice system has made them virtually immune to any talk of reform, which would mean finding ways to provide services and support to at-risk individuals to prevent criminal activity and reduce the chance of recidivism.
Traditionally, district attorneys have another mandate: That is to turn as blind an eye as possible to police misconduct. Officers who beat, maim and even kill under the color of law, in even the most dubious circumstances, know that they have a virtual open pass from district attorneys who will not prosecute them. The pass holds that, even in the rare times that police officials request a prosecution, the answer is still no.
District attorneys know that if they forget that and start holding cops that break the law accountable, there will be a loud howl from police unions and associations. They will suddenly find themselves the target of a relentless, big-money campaign to dump them from office. Few district attorneys have the stomach to risk that.
No surprise, then, that district attorneys have been the loudest proponents of provisions state legislatures routinely rushed through to several get-tough, three-strikes laws. With few exceptions, district attorneys also were the loudest in protesting any relaxing or outright repeal of three-strikes laws.
Then there’s the public. Gascón’s voracious opponents repeatedly cite concern over alleged rising crime as their rationale for going after him. That is an easy card to play. Simply mention crime and that always stirs anxiety and terror among many.
The fear card is even easier to play with middle-class-to-wealthy business and homeowners. Toss in the conjured image of packs of poor, young Blacks and Hispanics running roughshod through their neighborhoods, and that part of the public is off to the races, demanding a crackdown.
Gascón continually refers to the need for “prosecutorial excellence” in his approach to criminal justice reform. A major part of that is prosecuting and winning convictions against cops who wantonly use deadly force against civilians.
He has done that in some cases and hasn’t in others. That is why he is damned when he does and doesn’t.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the host of the weekly Earl Ofari Hutchinson Show on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network Saturdays at 9 a.m.
