35th California city votes 'no confidence' against Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon

The city that lost two police officers in a shooting last week issued a vote of “no confidence” against Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, who is facing a possible recall over progressive policies that have been blamed for a surge in crime, on Tuesday.

The El Monte City Council unanimously passed the resolution, which states: “We believe that D.A. Gascon’s policies have now been shown to be detrimental to public safety in El Monte and Los Angeles County, and also detrimental to the goal we share, or rehabilitating people away from criminal activity, as shown by the high failure rate of D.A. Gascon’s policy of not holding people accountable for their criminal acts.”

El Monte Police Cpl. Michael Paredes and Officer Joseph Santana were killed in a motel shootout last week by William Flores, a felon who was free due in part to Gascon’s refusal to prosecute three-strike cases.

“D.A. Gascon’s poorly vetted policies allowed a career criminal and known gang member to walk the streets freely following a lenient 2021 plea deal,” states the resolution.

“Had (Gascón) been tougher on crime, this may have been prevented,” mayor Jessica Ancona said at the meeting, reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

The resolution makes El Monte the 35th California city to vote “no confidence” in Gascon. Others include Arcadia, Rosemead, Covina, Diamond Bar, Santa Clarita, San Dimas, Whittier, West Covina, Walnut, Norwalk, Lancaster, La Mirada, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Pico Rivera, Redondo Beach, San Gabriel, Santa Fe Springs, Temple City and La Habra Heights, according to The Tribune.

Many cite similar objects, such as the DA’s elimination of cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent offenses, ruling out the death penalty and eliminating sentencing enhancements.

“A telling 98% of career Deputy District Attorneys have voted ‘No Confidence” in D.A. Gascón’s policies and leadership,” notes the El Monte resolution.

LA County Senior Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami, a vocal critic of Gascon, praised El Monte’s vote on Twitter.

“Thank you El Monte for supporting victims, families, children and the families of Officers Santana and Paredes!” he wrote.

El Monte’s vote took place hours after Gascon held a press conference to defend his office’s handling of Flores’s case, saying his history “did not contain any evidence of violence.”

Gascon is facing a possible recall over his policies, with the group working to recall him announcing last week that it had collected enough signatures to put it on the ballot.