The Brief

District Attorney George Gascón came under withering criticism during a debate in downtown Los Angeles Thursday night that featured 10 of the 12 candidates vying to be the county’s top prosecutor.

Gascón instituted a sweeping set of reforms after he was elected in 2020. Many of them focused on reducing penalties for people convicted of crimes. He said it was an effort to reduce mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

“What I will continue to do if I were to be honored with being reelected is continue (with a policy) that cares for the victims of our community and does so in a thoughtful and intelligent way,” Gascón said at the debate.

But his opponents argued that the incumbent’s reforms had made Angelenos less safe. One — Nathan Hochman, a criminal defense attorney and a former Republican candidate for California attorney general — said the changes had heralded a “golden age of criminals,” because they were spending less time behind bars.

Other candidates agreed.

“The social experiment that Mr. Gascón has been engaging with is not working,” said Eric Siddall, a deputy district attorney and one of four of Gascón’s own prosecutors running to unseat him. Siddall said serious offenders are being treated too leniently.

Superior Court Judge Debra Archuleta, a former prosecutor, said Gascón’s policies have eroded public safety.

“The question, ladies and gentlemen, is: Are we safer than we were three years ago? Unequivocally we are not,” she said.

Fears about safety are up, violent crime is down

According to a Gallup poll released in November, fear for personal safety is at a three-decade high around the country. The poll found 40% of Americans said they would be afraid to walk alone at night within a mile of their home. Gallup has been asking that question since 1963.

Gallup’s annual crime poll also found 77% of Americans believe there is more crime in the U.S. than a year ago.

“We have a society right now in Los Angeles who feels really unsafe,” said Jon Hatami, one of Gascón’s deputy district attorneys. He promised to prosecute people “to the fullest extent of the law.”

But crime is trending downward, according to criminologist Jeff Asher. FBI third-quarter national data last year found violent crime fell 8% while property crime fell 6.3% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to Asher. Violent crime nationally has trended downward for at least 30 years according to FBI data.

Los Angeles Police Department data show violent crime is down 10.8% and property crime is down 18% year to date from two years ago.

At the debate, Gascón pointed to this as evidence his policies work.

“We have seen crime coming down not only in our community but we’re seeing crime going down nationwide, at the same time we have continued with the reform effort,” said Gascón, a former LAPD assistant chief who was also district attorney in San Francisco.

Challengers said his more lenient approach to crime has created an atmosphere of impunity in L.A. County as evidenced in part by “smash and grab” robberies by groups of people caught on videotape. There have also been several high-profile cases where people who committed serious crimes received relatively light sentences.

“We have to restore the public’s trust that we are doing the job that we have to do to keep them safe,” said Deputy District Attorney Maria Ramirez. She called Gascón’s policies “pro-criminal.”

Gascón said his office is prosecuting violent crimes, including violent misdemeanors, “at the same rate” as previous district attorneys.

“We are dealing with organized retail theft, we are dealing with fentanyl,” he said. “The reality is that all of that work is being done and will continue to be done if I were to be reelected.”

Prosecuting misdemeanors

One of Gascón’s policies is aimed at misdemeanor crimes. His office declines to file charges involving 13 categories of low-level misdemeanors, including driving on a suspended license, drug and paraphernalia possession, and public intoxication. The policy calls for misdemeanor charges only when there are extenuating circumstances, like repeat offenses.

Gascón has said many people accused of misdemeanors are unhoused, drug-addicted and/or mentally ill, and that prosecuting them is unfair and has minimal effect on public safety.

Craig Mitchell, a Superior Court judge and former prosecutor and high school teacher, said he would prosecute misdemeanors. “Police are turning a blind eye to so many crimes because they know nothing is going to happen even if they bring the case to the district attorney,” he said.

“We need to figure out how to get people who are engaged in low-level crimes into the criminal justice system so that those who are crying out for mental health treatment, for addiction treatment, can actually be encouraged to obtain such treatment,” he said.

Many of the other candidates echoed a similar sentiment, saying the D.A.’s office should use the prosecutions of unhoused people who commit crimes to steer them into social services in exchange for dropping criminal charges.

Almost all of the candidates said they would generally seek tougher penalties than Gascon.

“I will repeal any vestige and replace any vestige of the original directives issued by George Gascón,” said John McKinney, a deputy district attorney. “Much of what he imposed upon us … were a set of one-size-fits-all blanket policies.”

Leadership in the district attorney's office

The policies have outraged many in the district attorney's office, where individual prosecutors have far less discretion and morale is said to be at an all-time low.

“The office is in crisis,” said Siddall, who presented himself as part of “a new generation of prosecutors” who neither embraces Gascón’s more liberal policies nor wants to “to turn back the clock” to policies that fuel mass incarceration. He said he would focus his attention on the small percentage of people who commit violent crimes, if elected.

Some candidates at the debate argued they would be tougher on crime than the rest.

“I’m law and order. I’m conservative,” said retired Superior Court Judge David Milton, the only registered Republican running in the non-partisan race. Milton said Gascon is part of a national movement of liberal prosecutors.

“Their aim is to destroy our constitutional democratic republic,” he said. “Gascon is moving in the direction of socialism and communism.”

Former federal prosecutor Jeff Chemerinsky focused less on Gascón and instead promised to increase cooperation between the district attorney’s office and local law enforcement.

“I’d collaborate with law enforcement and restore the sense of partnership that I think right now is lacking,” Chemerinsky said.

He was the only challenger to agree with Gascón that Proposition 47 need not be amended. The 2014 voter-approved measure reduced six crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, including simple drug possession petty theft under $950.

Gascón was a co-author of the measure.

Two candidates — criminal defense attorney Dan Kapelovitz and San Bernardino Deputy District Attorney Lloyd Bobcat Masson — did not attend the debate. Kapelovitz said he was not invited. The sponsor, LA Magazine, did not provide a reason why.

L.A. County leaders on Tuesday greenlit public transparency about payouts to county executives in response to LAist revealing a secretive $2 million settlement with the county’s CEO.

County supervisors unanimously approved a proposal by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to have the county proactively inform the public about such settlements once they’re finalized and to look into creating a public website to describe them.

Among other things, the approved motion requires that all future settlements with county executives include language making it clear the agreement will be proactively disclosed to the public.

The backstory

The directive cited coverage by LAist revealing that two months ago, county CEO Fesia Davenport had quietly gotten a $2 million settlement payment from the county. As reported by LAist, Davenport’s settlement deal was labeled “confidential” and was not publicly reported out by the county.

The settlement was in response to her claims the supervisors harmed her reputation and caused her distress by putting a measure before voters — which was approved — that will create an elected county executive position. It’s among multiple reforms to restructure county government under last year’s voter-approved proposition, known as Measure G.

Davenport did not return a message for comment.

‘Public trust’ cited

“Transparency is central to strengthening public trust, without exception,” Horvath said in a statement after Tuesday’s vote. “Since joining the board, I have actively taken steps to ensure the public is included in the work of the county, especially concerning the use of public funds.

“Creating a clear process for department executive settlements is a commonsense action fundamental to good governance.”

David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, commented on the decision, calling transparency the "oxygen of accountability in government."

“There is no reason why the county should not be proactive about posting and disclosing settlements that have been reached, especially with former executives or staff,” Loy said.

Davenport was one of several county executives to receive sizable settlement payouts over the past few years. Four additional county executives received payouts, according to Davenport’s claims that led to her settlement.

Costco now is one of the largest companies to sue the Trump administration over tariffs, hoping to secure a refund if the Supreme Court declares the new import duties illegal.

The Supreme Court is weighing the future of President Donald Trump's tariffs on nearly all imports. Justices seemed skeptical about their legality during last month's oral arguments. Lower courts previously had found Trump improperly used emergency economic powers to set most of the new levies.

Dozens of companies across industries have filed lawsuits to seek refunds in the event the Supreme Court finds Trump's tariffs illegal. The list includes makeup giant Revlon, the canned foods maker Bumble Bee and Kawasaki, which makes motorcycles and more. Now Costco has joined the queue.

"This is the first time we're seeing big companies take their heads out of the sand publicly," said Marc Busch, a trade law expert at Georgetown University. For the most part, small companies have been leading the legal action against tariffs, he said, adding, "It's nice to finally see some heavyweights joining in the fray."

In its suit filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade, Costco did not specify how much it's already paid in tariffs, but the retail giant worries that even if the Supreme Court eventually unravels Trump's tariff regime, it may not be able to recoup all that money.

Costco executives in May had said that about a third of what is sold in the U.S. comes from abroad, predominantly non-food items.

NPR's Scott Horsley contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 NPR

The L.A. City Council voted 8-4 on Tuesday to continue allowing the Los Angeles Police Department to be armed with 40 mm foam bullet launchers and tear gas.

California law enforcement agencies are required to track and publicly document how they use military equipment, including less-lethal bean bag shotgun rounds, drones and armored vehicles, under state law AB 481 passed in 2022. The law also requires city leaders to approve or disapprove military equipment use annually. That vote came in front of the council Tuesday.

Another law passed after the George Floyd protests of 2020 restricted the use of crowd-control weapons, including tear gas and foam bullets, unless specific criteria are met. In 2020, a federal judge also imposed an injunction restricting LAPD’s use of force at protests, citing the “unfortunate history of civil rights violations by LAPD officers.”

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez — who introduced an amendment asking city leaders to ban the LAPD’s use of 40 mm foam bullet launchers and tear gas — said military equipment use is allowed only in specific instances but that the police department has deployed the weapons “in ways that should make everyone here on this body pause.” He cited examples of weapons used against journalists and protesters during this summer’s protests against federal immigration activity in L.A.

“In recent months, we’ve watched this equipment deployed in ways that echo the same intimidation tactics we condemn in ICE raids — tactics that erode trust and violate basic legal protections,” he said. “Our residents should be able to exercise their rights without being met with [foam] bullets or tear gas.”

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell countered that such weapons are "a de-escalation tool, short of using deadly force. The last thing we want to use is deadly force."

He continued: "Taking a tool like this away from us puts us in a very bad position relative to city liability and relative to protecting our officers and the public that we serve.”

In 2024, Los Angeles was liable for more than $50 million in payouts related to civil rights violations and unlawful use of force by the LAPD, according to the city controller’s office.

 ”Rather than be swayed by emotion or swayed by the loud voices of a relative few," McDonnell said Tuesday, "we're here to protect 4 million residents of Los Angeles and all the visitors who come here."

How we got here

After this summer’s anti-ICE protests, the LAPD once again came under scrutiny for its use of foam bullet launchers and tear gas.

An LAist investigation found LAPD used crowd-dispersal tools on people who did not appear to pose a threat and, in some cases, did not appear to be protesting at all. LAist reporters witnessed LAPD officers firing less-lethal munitions into crowds and at protestors running away from police. They did not hear clear warnings about the use of crowd-dispersal weapons during some of the protests and could not locate evidence that adequate warning was provided during subsequent protests.

But at Tuesday’s council meeting, McDonnell said, these weapons are deployed as “a last resort to be able to restore order” and after people have been given time to leave.

The Los Angeles Press Club sued the LAPD after June’s protests, citing violations of journalists’ rights while covering protests. After a judge issued an injunction in that case prohibiting the use of force against journalists, the LAPD filed an emergency motion asking the judge to lift the injunction, stating it required “operationally impracticable standards.” The judge denied the LAPD’s request.

How to watchdog your police department

One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.

AB 481 requires police departments — including those at transit agencies, school districts and university campuses, sheriff’s departments, district attorney’s offices and probation departments — to provide reports about the use of military equipment.

So how do you know if they're in compliance? It’s simple. Search for the law enforcement agency name and "AB 481" on any search engine, and a public page should pop up. Here’s the LAPD’s.

The city of Los Angeles has been working on major changes to its charter, which is basically the city’s constitution. The changes could bring sweeping reform to how the city works.

The Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission has been meeting for several months on a wide range of topics, including City Council expansion, ranked-choice voting systems and land-use planning changes.

“It is weedy. It is academic. But the charter touches Angelenos’ everyday lives,” said Raymond Meza, who chairs the commission.

This week, the commission will host a town hall meeting in Echo Park in an effort to get more people involved in the process. It will take place outside on the northeast lawn of the park — weather permitting.

Despite getting a slow start, the commission is hosting multiple meetings in an effort to meet an April 2 deadline to submit proposals to the City Council. It’ll be up to the council to decide whether to place reform proposals on the ballot next November.

The commission has broken reform down into four subject areas, with committees for each.

They are:

• planning and infrastructure
• government structure
• better government
• personnel and budget

“We’re in an exciting moment,” said David Levitus of L.A. Forward, an advocacy group.

“Looking at the charter for reform is long overdue”

Reform Commission

The L.A. City Council created the commission last year after a series of scandals rocked City Hall. Former Councilmember Jose Huizar went to prison on federal corruption charges and secret audio tapes revealed backroom dealing on redistricting.

The panel is made up of four appointees by Mayor Karen Bass, two by the council president and two by the president pro tempore. Those eight selected an additional five through an open application process.

On Thursday, the full commission is expected to take up proposals for a two-year budget cycle and an expedited city hiring process. Advocates of the changes say extending budget planning from one to two years will allow city leaders to better anticipate spending and revenue.

They say the city hiring process is slow and byzantine.

Meza said the Echo Park meeting Saturday is an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the process and speak at length with commissioners.

“We absolutely want to hear from people what is important to them as residents of the city of Los Angeles when it comes to their expectations of their city government," he said.

How to get involved

For a list of all upcoming meetings, go here.

To submit a public comment, you can email reformLAcharter@lacity.org.

There’s also a survey on the commission’s website at reformlacharter.lacity.gov.