Husband of Los Angeles DA faces misdemeanor charges after allegedly pointing gun at Black Lives Matter protesters
The California attorney general has filed misdemeanor gun charges against the husband of Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey for an incident in March in which he allegedly pointed a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters, CBS Los Angeles reports.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed three misdemeanor counts of assault with a firearm against David Lacey, his office confirmed Tuesday.
On March 2, with protesters gathered outside the Laceys' home in Granada Hills, cellphone video showed a man purported to be David Lacey open the front door of the couple's home and point a black handgun, before demanding, "Get off my porch. Right now. Get off. Get off of my porch. I will shoot you. Get off of my porch."
At a news conference immediately following the incident, Lacey said that she had received death threats, been followed and had been confronted in public. She said her husband responded to the early-morning protest in fear and that he was profoundly sorry.
Both Jackie and David Lacey issued statements on Tuesday.
"The events that took place earlier this year have caused my family immense pain," the DA said. "My husband acted in fear for my safety after we were subjected to months of harassment that included a death threat no less than a week earlier. Protesters arrived at my house shortly after 5 a.m. while I was upstairs. My husband felt that we were in danger and acted out of genuine concern for our well being."
"My client and I are disappointed that the Attorney General's Office felt that the conduct at issue amounted to criminal behavior," a statement from David Lucey's attorney read. "We disagree entirely with their assessment, but we have the utmost faith in the justice system, and we are confident that the correct result will be reached."
Protesters have been holding weekly demonstrations outside of Lacey's downtown office and her home for months, calling for her to resign. They say that over her tenure as DA she has not done enough to prosecute law enforcement officers for misconduct.
To date, Lacey has charged one officer, LA County Sheriff's Deputy Luke Liu, for shooting an unarmed man who allegedly struck him with a vehicle during a traffic stop.
In that case, Lacey said the use of force was not reasonable, a key factor that often determines whether an officer is prosecuted in a deadly shooting.
Lacey is running for re-election against former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón in November.
