Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey confirmed Monday her office will not prosecute protesters arrested in connection with curfew violations or a failure to disperse during peaceful demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in police custody.
The announcement comes as top city leaders faced criticism over the mass arrests of protesters last week while expressing political views.
“I believe whole-heartedly in free speech and support the right of protesters to demonstrate peacefully against historic racial injustice in our criminal justice system and throughout our nation,” Lacey said in a statement. “I want to encourage the exchange of ideas and work to establish dialogue between law enforcement and protesters so that we may implement enduring systemic change.”
Lacey, whose office would handle curfew violations in parts of the county without their own local prosecutor’s office like Los Angeles, had told The Times on Sunday her office is “not going to pursue” curfew cases. The cities not covered by Lacey’s decision include Long Beach, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Torrance, Burbank, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, her office said in a statement.
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Lacey’s opponent in the upcoming race for district attorney, George Gascón, has called for all such cases to be dismissed.
Los Angeles city law enforcement officials said Sunday they will not pursue criminal or financial penalties against the protesters.
The decision follows complaints by many of those arrested that they spent hours in plastic handcuffs in crammed buses without justification, leaving them with injuries and potentially exposing them to the coronavirus. Many of those were taken into custody last week on suspicion of either violating curfew rules or failing to disperse after the LAPD had declared their protest unlawful.
A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and Black Lives Matter L.A. claims the curfews illegally suppressed constitutionally protected protests and violated people’s freedom of movement. The organizations have also decried videos that show police officers responding with violence against protesters, including swinging batons and firing foam and sponge projectiles.
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Those advocates said the city’s new stance does not resolve all the concerns outlined in the lawsuit. They added that officials shouldn’t waffle on repercussions but rather dismiss the charges immediately.
