The head of the union that represents Los Angeles police officers applauded a move by the sheriff’s department to bypass the local district attorney in favor of federal authorities after the arrest of three alleged gang members and a woman linked to the shooting death of an off-duty officer who was house hunting with his girlfriend.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva took the case to the Justice Department in a move seen as a repudiation in response to directives issued by District Attorney George Gascon.
“I think it’s a gutsy move,” Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, told Fox News. “I think he did it because he knew DA Gascon wasn’t going to file any gang enhancements or gun enhancements and probably not go after these people for the death penalty.”
TRAINS IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES RANSACKED BY THIEVES: ‘AMAZON PACKAGES, UPS BOXES, UNUSED COVID TESTS’
Los Angeles Police Officer Fernando Arroyos, 27, was killed while house hunting with his girlfriend. Four people have been arrested in connection with the murder investigation, and federal prosecutors will prosecute the case after Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva bypassed the local district attorney.
(Los Angeles Police Protective League)
Since taking office in December 2020, Gascon has directed his prosecutors to only seek sentencing enhancements for certain crimes. He has taken a stance on tough-on-crime policies that supporters say exacerbates racial and other inequities in the criminal justice system.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s department announced that Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29; Ernesto Cisneros, 22; Jesse Contreras, 34; and Rios’ girlfriend, Haylee Marie Grisham, 18, were arrested this week and are charged in the death of LAPD officer Fernando Arroyos. The 27-year-old off-duty officer was killed Monday in South Los Angeles during an attempted robbery while looking at homes with his girlfriend.
Authorities said Arroyos was shot after Rios…
Source : foxnews
