<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655339474204,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000177-ab1c-dfb6-afff-bf5d00c50003","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655339474204,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000177-ab1c-dfb6-afff-bf5d00c50003","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55147641", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1031887"} }); rn","_id":"00000181-69eb-db25-adf7-79fbc24c0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe shooting deaths of two Los Angeles-area police force members by a gang member are due to policies enacted by District Attorney George Gascon that minimize charges against suspects using guns, current and former prosecutors say.
Cpl. Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana of the El Monte Police Department were shot to death by a felon on probation in an ambush at a motel Tuesday night. The shooter would likely have been in jail on a previous gun charge if not for Gascon’s soft-on-crime policies, said former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.
“Apparently, the indulgent sentence given to this ex-con with a gun enabled him to be out when he should have been in. And when he was out, he got another gun and murdered two police officers,” Cooley told the Washington Examiner. “This is a direct result of Gascon’s policies, which required the least charges and minimal sentences.”
GASCON UNLAWFULLY TOLD PROSECUTORS TO ABANDON THREE STRIKES LAW, COURT SAYS
One of Gascon’s first mandates when he took office in 2020 was to forbid prosecutors from filing additional charges for the use of a gun, which could result in a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Gang member Justin Flores was given a 20-day jail sentence in 2021 and had a part of a gun possession charge dropped in exchange for a no-contest plea in court, said Lt. Omar Camacho with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Prior to Gascon’s tenure, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office would have vigorously prosecuted Flores’s gun charge, Cooley said. And that would have resulted in a minimum of 18 months in jail, so Flores would still be in custody, said Cooley, who served as district attorney in the nation’s most populous county from 2000 to 2012.
On Tuesday, officers from El Monte Police Department arrived at the Siesta Inn in response to a 911 call of a possible stabbing. They were met with a hail of gunfire at the motel room, and both later died at a hospital. Flores fled to the parking lot, where he encountered additional police officers who shot him dead, Camacho said.
A woman was located who had been with Flores, but she did not appear to have any injuries.
Flores had a previous burglary conviction, which gave him the status of a felon prohibited from possessing weapons, said Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Flores’s subsequent possession of a gun and ammunition prompted a probation violation case and the partial dismissal by Gascon.
The LASD is investigating the murders of Paredes and Santana.
“Gascon’s policies have grave consequences,” said Villanueva, who is part of a campaign to recall Gascon. “Unfortunately, it’s the innocent person who pays the price. In this case, two cops are just doing their jobs.”
Gascon faces a recall election, and the campaign initiating it announced Wednesday that it has the required 566,857 signatures to place the measure on a ballot — possibly as soon as the Nov. 8 general election. Organizers will continue to collect additional signatures to cover for any submissions that are illegitimate.
The Gascon recall efforts come in the wake of San Francisco voters’ June 7 decision to kick District Attorney Chesa Boudin out of office over policies they perceived as coddling criminals and suspects rather than prosecuting lawbreakers. Gascon was Boudin’s predecessor as San Francisco district attorney from 2011 to 2019.
Gascon’s office issued the following statement pertaining to the shooting: “The sentence he received in the firearm case was consistent with case resolutions for this type of offense given his criminal history and the nature of the offense. At the time the court sentenced him, Mr. Flores did not have a documented history of violence.”
“Both of the El Monte police officers killed in the line of duty were dads. This has become a dangerous social experiment in LA. It needs to change,” tweeted Jon Hatami, a frequent Gascon critic.
“’Public Safety’ is not just a hollow phrase. It requires action. Our so-called leaders need to do better,” added Hatami, a deputy district attorney in the Complex Child Abuse Unit.
City leaders gathered for a press conference Tuesday night.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“They paid the ultimate sacrifice — serving their community, trying to help somebody,” said interim El Monte Police Chief Ben Lowry. “Today, they were murdered by a coward.”
