The Beverly Hills City Council passed a resolution on March 16 expressing a vote of no confidence in Los Angeles County District Attorney (DA) George Gascón.
The resolution passed by a margin of 3-2 and was brought at the request of Mayor Lester Friedman and Councilmember Lilli Bosse. The resolution stated that Gascón’s new directives, which include dismissing various misdemeanor charges and eliminating sentencing enhancers, “contradict state laws” and “the legislative ballot initiative process to prevent and prosecute crime and protect the general public.” The resolution calls on Gascón to nix all of his new directives.
The resolution calls on Gascón to nix all of his new directives.
“Safety and security is job one,” Friedman said in a statement. “By disregarding the actions of criminals, we are undermining the work of our women and men in law enforcement. The laws which DA Gascón is ignoring were democratically passed and need to be enforced.”
The Santa Clarita City Council also passed a vote of no confidence into Gascón on March 9. Councilman Jason Gibbs said at the time that the resolution demonstrates “the serious concerns we have within this community.”
Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams has previously expressed concern about how Gascón’s directive eliminating sentencing enhancers will affect hate crime sentencing; alternatively, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action has signed a letter expressing support for Gascón’s directives show how “we can no longer police and cage away the many social ills produced by inequality, racism, and poverty: the root causes of crime.”
Prior to the vote, a special advisor to Gascón said in a statement to the Journal that the DA’s directives will help achieve the goal of “enhancing public safety, increasing equity, expanding victim services and strengthening police accountability.”
The vote comes as Gascón is reportedly considering reducing or eliminating the Hardcore Gang unit in the DA office altogether. When Fox11 reporter Bill Melugin asked Gascón about it, he replied that he’s looking “at where resources can be moved.”
UPDATE: I asked Gascon about the hardcore gang unit during his press webinar today. He said that he is evaluating all functions of the office to move into a 21st century approach to the job and that he will continue to look at where resources can be moved. No firm answer. @FOXLA
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 17, 2021
