The election for the District Attorney of LA County is on “Super Tuesday” (tomorrow, 3 March).
This is not something I would normally write about, but the actions of Jackie Lacey have concerned me for some time — since I was first contacted by the victims of Danny Masterson.
Leah and I have been personally involved trying to help these women get justice and have witnessed the frustration of Jackie Lacey sitting on the proposed prosecution of the crimes without rejecting or filing charges. She has left the case and Masterson’s victims in limbo. It is the coward’s way out — if a prosecutor does not believe there is evidence to file charges, they should make their position known and refuse to file. If they do believe there is evidence they should do the right thing regardless of the perceived consequences. Doing nothing at all and saying nothing is a way of avoiding the consequences of a decision and leaving the door open to being able to take the politically expedient course of action at a later date. If political fortunes or public outcry becomes too great, “I am filing the charges, I wanted to make sure all the evidence is in” and if no outcry quietly dismiss, or if there is outcry on the other side “you are keeping an innocent person under a cloud of suspicion” then “I have been ensuring all the facts were collected and I can no confirm no evidence of a crime exists.”
Jackie Lacey’s track record indicates the Masterson matter is not an outlier.
A prosecutor who puts their politics and cronyism above the law should never pretend to hold the position.
Some facts.
During her term, Lacey — the first African American woman to hold the office — has been heavily criticized by Black Lives Matter, the ACLU and others for her hesitancy to prosecute members of Los Angeles County law enforcement for murder.
The L.A. County district attorney’s office has reviewed more than 500 officer-involved shootings during Lacey’s seven years in office. Lacey’s office has filed criminal charges against police in just TWO cases.
In 2015 off-duty LAPD Officer Henry Solis was charged with murder after he shot a man after a fight outside a Pomona bar, and in May, sheriff’s Deputy Luke Liu was charged with manslaughter after he shot a fleeing motorist.
Yet Los Angeles still leads the country in law enforcement shooting deaths after Phoenix at 21.
Black residents are disproportionately victims—24 percent of the deaths but only 9 percent of the county’s population.
Lacey opposed Proposition 47, which shifted more incarcerated people away from jails. Lacey opposed ending cash bail and has taken no steps toward reducing the city’s high incarceration rate and racial disparity in incarceration.
Lacey also opposed Proposition 57 and marijuana legalization, measures that easily passed with Los Angeles voters.
Lacey opposed changes to the felony murder law passed last year, filing motions in court arguing that the statute was unconstitutional. In contrast, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a brief that the statute was constitutional.
According to a recently released ACLU report, Lacey has sent 22 people to death row since she became DA in 2012, the highest in absolute numbers of any jurisdiction. All are people of color.
Lacey’s office didn’t charge billionaire Ed Buck for two fatal overdoses that occurred in his West Hollywood apartment. Lacey’s office ultimately charged Buck for a third, non-fatal overdose in September arguing recently that the Los Angeles sheriff’s department bungled the investigation.
Lacey didn’t prosecute a California Highway Patrol officer who repeatedly punched a homeless woman in July 2014. The highway patrol settled with the family for $1.5 million.
Lacey has been criticized for not charging Bikram Choudhury criminally
Lacey’s office failed to act in the Weinstein case, despite creating a task force two years earlier. Lacey only acted when Weinstein was behind the defendant’s table on the other side of the country, being prosecuted in New York. She announced her decision to prosecute Weinstein only as her battle for reelection got underway.
And finally, there is this incident this morning which speaks volumes about her and is now a national news story (click on the link above to see the video):
I cannot vote in Los Angeles.
But if I could, I would certainly be voting for George Gascon.
I believe he is the only hope the Masterson victims have for justice. And the only hope every resident or victim in Los Angeles has.
Mike
A police officer once told me “when thieves stop robbing people I will stop locking them up”
Don’t play the Socialist it really does not suit you.
When you are the victim of a crime from this scum they preys on us then you will understand.
Until then, shut up.
The simple fact is when a criminal is incarcerated he/she is unable to rob you.
Unless you think the psychologits can help LOL LOL
Huh????
ogre100, a mind on drugs is a horrible thing. Please seek help
ogre100: You MIGHT consider trying that reply again, perhaps after sobering up. There were one or two sentences which seemed to make a kind of sense by themselves, but all together, It sounded like the ravings of a mind “under the influence”. Evidently, I’m far from the only one to think that.
IF you intended to give Mike a smack, it didn’t bother him much as it’s posted as a reply, not that I believe Mike censors many.
Thoughtful, well-reasoned & logically-arranged posts are most appreciated, I’ve found. Might I suggest you write your thoughts up off-line, save them until the morning, then re-edit them for maximum clarity? THEN possibly post something. I’ve found that writing in the heat of the moment and NOT backing off for a while to let the mind cool before doing a final edit can cause one to make some outrageous mistakes in the logical organization of their intended message. For instance, I had to pause a bit and enjoy som coffee before I could finish this missive. The first attempts were a little too strong for the circumstances.
Los Angeles District Attorney: Jackie Lacey. Stuff the women who have been severely affected by Masterson and that vicious little scumbag. It’s, “Waah, waah. $camology might upset my political ambitions. Waah, waah.”
What a weak willed coward!
Don’t know how this works in the US, but in the Netherlands, if a DA (officier van justitie) does not prosecute, a citizen can ask the judge to force the DA to prosecute.
Not that way in the USA unfortunately. This women wouldn’t even prosecute a security guard who shot and tried to murder a transgender journalist. It was on video too.
Unfortunately, Furry gets treated that way a lot. It’s sad because I quite like her.
The entire law enforcement establishment in… no wait, the entire STATE of California is corrupt.
The ambush— including camping out on Ms. Lacey’s porch and hurling nasty epithets about her and her family at 5:00 in the morning— was set up by George Gascon, Ms. Lacey’s opponent. This was admitted to by one of the lead protesters a few hours ago. The gun-wielding was of course inappropriate regardless, but some context doesn’t hurt.
Proposition 47 has been an unmitigated disaster for California. This has been acknowledged by major politicians of both political stripes.
I can’t for the life of me figure why she would not move ahead on Danny Masterson with SEVEN women coming forward. There is absolutely NO excuse. I hope the new guy will do better.
While I may 1000% wrong, there’s something about #7 showing up at this late date that triggers my “spidey-senses”.
Is she a plant to gain foreknowledge of legal strategies? Is she a plant who is going to later “reveal” that she was paid to participate by anti-$ci.. sources? Will she go along for a while and then “reveal” she was just looking for a payday? Is she looking to sabotage the others? I could be wrong, but none of these would surprise.
And then to top it off, I don’t know whether to root for her being legit (meaning she was abused – ugh) or for her to be a sneaky $ci.. spy (meaning she didn’t get raped – which is good).
While I personally loathe Jackie Lacey & think she’s been completely inept, the approval of prop 47 has been a complete nightmare. It’s one of the major causes of the explosion of crime & homelessness. The jails emptied onto the streets. There is literally no consequence for crimes. The police have had their hands tied.
Well I DO get to vote on her in the election today and my wife already voted for George Gascon and I hadn’t even told her about Jackie Lacey yet. This lady is not fit to be the D.A. regardless of her race, creed or color. The Peter Principle effects everyone. And she clearly has risen to the level of her own incompetence and debilitating to the job political ambitions. Out with ye!
I’d have to consider the opponent’s platform. I don’t consider BLM to have the answers to violence in urban areas. I live in Chicago, and we have Kim Foxx. Crime is going up, despite similar reforms to what you list, and she also did politically motivated corrupt coverup with Jussie Smollett. Perhaps I am cynical after living in Chicago, but are you sure the new guy would actually go after Masterson?
Remember, it can always get worse.
No, I am not sure he would go after Masterson…
But I am pretty sure Jackie Lacey will not.
So, its worth a try.
Add to that, Mike, that the law is clear: is there, or is there not, sufficient evidence to indict? If there isn’t, throw the case out and formally state WHY. If there IS, then INDICT. Do it, or don’t do it, but MAKE A DECISION. A key part of a DA’s JOB is making these decisions.
Yo Jackie Baby,
Do your job, lady!
If you can’t even make decisions, if you can’t even handle THAT part of your job, then you don’t deserve your job.
Retire!
Much love,
Aqua.
Is there any evidence that Lacey is actually cozy with Scientology or that she’s been safepointed?
Is it possible that she’s just a political opportunist with ambitions for higher office who just doesn’t want to poke the bear and tangle with a litigant with a reputation for streetfighting?
This would make her lazy and unprincipled, but not “paid off”. Happy to hear evidence either way.
Personally, I think lazy and unprincipled is the right answer.
Heck, she gets a salary + benefits whether or not she DOES anything — up to the next election — so why should she DO anything at all?
I believe (can’t prove it so this is an opinion for whatever its worth) that she is definitely safepointed AND very possibly herself lazy and unprincipled too! To safepoint “opinion leaders” (OLs) and “decision makers” of all kinds in the community is Scientology SCRIPTURE (its LRH policy). Mayors, council people, police, etc., with legal power, pastors, community activists who are “voices for the community”, politicians on the Right, politicians on the Left, – the cult doesn’t care about any of that apart from – WHO has power, “comm lines”, influence? Who do the people around here LISTEN to, whether its because they HAVE TO or because they like and admire and trust them. Those people, per LRH policy, MUST be safepointed. Jackie Lacey may be avoiding the Masterson case out of laziness and because she’s not equal to making the tough decisions a district attorney of a large important city has to make, but for whatever its worth, I doubt that the cult is taking ANY chances relying on her own lack of character, or morals or initiative – her personal character failings – in a case like this. She may not be taking actual money (directly) from them because the cult operates with cutouts (legal cutouts) to do their influence peddling, but whether or not she’s on board monetarily with the cult I don’t think for one minute that they haven’t been TRYING to give her whatever she wants and needs in ANY way they can. She occupies a powerful post and there are celebs with seamy sexual pasts and reactive minds they have to protect – because they are in bed with these celebs!
When I attended the DC Ideal Morgue opening back in 2009, during the ceremony an org staffer told me the intention for having an Ideal Morgue a few blocks from the White House was for the Church of Scientology to begin influencing policy in America at the highest level.
You say that she is the firs African American woman to ever hold her position.
Why did you reference her race? What is the relevance of race on these issues?
I would hate to think you are looking for support for your position based on race. It seems completely out of line to me.
Two reasons. She is the first African American woman to hold the position. Just like Obama was the first African American president. He wasn’t the first president, or the first male president.
By why it’s relevant is she is opposed by the ACLU and black lives matter despite this.
That’s why it’s relevant. I’m not looking for support for my position because of this, but despite it.
Racial characteristics aren’t chosen and therefore irrelevant to human actions. What’s subject to choice is a person’s beliefs and the actions derived from those beliefs.
Reggie, Jackie Lacey’s husband, an African American, can be viewed and heard on YouTube, standing in the front door of their house, waiving a large handgun in the faces of Black Lives Matter activists peacefully demonstrating outside. This guy is, shall we say, not on their team. Check it out.
When she loses the election, she will realize that scientology might have been one of the causes. It all depended on what kind of loser she wanted to be. Take on scientology, and lose mental health, or buckle to them and lose her job…. There wasn’t a CLEAR choice for her to make…..except to join scientology. (The Octopus)
Only after her husband might be construed as a maniac for pulling a gun on a black lives matter rep. Her office said the LAPD will investigate the incident and share findings with an independent prosecutor. Don’t lift a finger until it effects you Jackie. Nice!
I don’t see why she should be afraid of the church of scientology at this point. It’s not like when Paulette Cooper took them on. It’s a different day and a different tiger. I mean does the church have something on her or is she just a coward to the bone.
I wonder how many more victims she has created by her inaction in so many instances where she should have done her job.
Vote her out!
Thank you for this excellent article, Mike. “A prosecutor who puts their politics and cronyism above the law should never pretend to hold the position.” Yes! She is pretending to hold the position of prosecutor while not doing the actions of her office. That is Treason in LRH terms. Her actions are treasonous to the victims of Danny Masterson and many others. I know who I”ll be voting for.
I’ve often felt like most of the top officials in Los Angeles are paid off. Lacey definitely being one of them.
The L.A. local government being the largest one in America, is also the most corrupt. Far and away, in my opinion.
Good luck, Mike.
I have thought that as well. Completely agree with you!
Bought and paid for, this one. She has been “safe-pointed” by the cult. And if she isn’t reelected the cult will go after her successor. The cult operates like the Mob. They have cutouts just like the Mob. Not in so few words but the cult gets its point across, loud and clear.
“See? All this nice money? Wouldn’t you like to have it? And there’s plenty more where this came from. Plenty. All we want it your loyalty. All you have to do is…really, its nothing…nothing illegal… but its so important to us… all legal by the way…we’d really appreciate it…so easy…you know you want to…all 100% legal…it really makes sense…”
Hopefully before Miscavige succeeds in getting any new elected prosecutor entirely into the cult’s pocket the Masterson indictments will come down. HOPEFULLY.
No doubt Miscavige is hedging his bets and via dark money contributing to all the contenders, fully prepared to pounce on his next Safepointee if Mrs. Lacey gets dumped.
And as for her husband, my God, waving that gun, panic in his eyes – yeah, I’d bet the farm he’s married to the Scientology Mob as is his wife.
Safepointing works with these criminal thug opinion leaders because they are birds of the same feathers. ” Safepointing” is a manipulative and deceptive technique the Cult of Scientology uses to dupe opinion leaders into thinking Scientology is a real church that helps mankind. It is bribery.
Anyone who has been manipulated and deceived who is an opinion leader and does not know about Scientology’s reputation as a destructive cult is being willfully ignorant.
Bribery Tech works when standardly applied.
Scientology – manipulating, conning, deceiving and committing fraud and other criminal acts since 1950.
“The L.A. local government being the largest one in America, is also the most corrupt. Far and away, in my opinion.”
Are you including Chicago and it’s HUGE “democratic” political Machine? I don’t think it’s possible to get MORE corrupt than them.
I am sure that the Church is staying neutral in the matter so as not to risk their tax exempt status (as if that ever stopped them from breaking the law before)
Bill, I don’t believe that scientology IS neutral in the case. Primarily because Masterson’s gotten a “pass” for so long. but that could be pure incompetence or cowardice, like her not taking on Weinstein until she “had” to.
Scientology is just staying quiet lately — uncharacteristically, as it LOVES as much media coverage of its nothingness as it can get.