LA County’s New District Attorney-elect Promises to Work with Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles
On November 6, former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey officially conceded in the race against George Gascón. Lacey had held her position for eight years, but Gascón won 53.7 percent of the total vote, leading by approximately 229,000 votes.
For three years, Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles (BLM-LA) held weekly protests outside of Lacey’s office to put a spotlight on her mishandling of the death of Kisha Michael. Michael was murdered in 2016 by five Inglewood police officers, and BLM-LA urged Lacey to “prosecute killer cops.” As Lacey’s refusal to prosecute in additional cases continued, so did the protests.
Activist Rahje Branch with BLM-LA stood outside of Lacey’s office the day she conceded. She said that the organization is hopeful Gascón will do better to hold police accountable — and that they will personally hold him accountable if he does not meet their expectations.
“This past Wednesday [November 4], we said it was our celebration, the last time we would meet in front of the D.A.’s office, but that is until further notice,” Branch said. “If George Gascón does not hold police accountable, we will be right back here where it all started.”
After years of protests against Lacey’s behavior, Gascón is well aware of the pressure placed on him by BLM-LA and other advocacy groups to reform the criminal justice system as we know it. According to Branch, Lacey refused to meet with BLM-LA and the families of those killed by police for three years. But on November 7, Gascón did.
“I am committed to meet with [BLM-LA], as I am committing to meet with many others, but again there is a symbolic reason why I’m here first,” Gascón said. “So much of what has happened in this nation, you have made it happen. Unfortunately, it has been on the back of tragedies for many families.”
Gascón proceeded to speak on his policy plans moving forward, specifically addressing the justice and types of reform that BLM has tirelessly advocated for nationwide. He said he intends to establish “a different brand of safety” that respects all Angelenos and holds all accountable, regardless of skin color, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, or citizenship status.
“When we talk about defunding the criminal justice system and the police, some people get very discouraged about it,” Gascón said. “”But we forget that we defunded education, we defunded our public health systems, we defunded housing.”
The majority of the community meeting led by BLM-LA gave space to the families of those who have been murdered by police in L.A. County, and have yet to see lawful prosecution of the officers involved. Among those that spoke at the meeting was Albert Corado, who made it clear he will be personally holding Gascón accountable.
Albert’s sister, Melyda Corado, was shot and killed by an LAPD officer during a shift as the assistant manager of Trader Joe’s in Silverlake. Police reports say the bullet was fired toward a gunman who was shooting officers from outside of the store, and therefore the gunman himself was charged with murder under the theory that he set off the chain of events leading to her death.
“I know you happen to have a relationship with these guys [the LAPD officers], and go to lunch with them and all that,” said Albert Corado. “But I want you to know that if you do not live up to your bargain, you are an elected official. We will come to your house.”
After all had spoken, Gascón reiterated his commitments to justice and his vows to be transparent and communicative with BLM-LA and the families involved. He promised that this is only the beginning of their conversation, and will not be the last time they speak. The meeting ended with a hopeful-yet-cautious message from BLM-LA co-founder, Melina Abdullah.
“We don’t want to protest you. We will if we have to, but that’s not what we want,” said Abdullah. “We want to be able to move forward in a spirit of collaboration, because we’ve got other sh*t to do!”
