UCI Law Clinics to Assist Los Angeles County District Attorney-Elect George Gascon in Review Effort of Officer-Involved Shootings

12-07-2020

The University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law) Civil Rights Litigation Clinic (CRLC) and Criminal Justice Clinic (CJC) will be assisting Los Angeles District Attorney-elect George Gascon is his effort to review officer-involved shootings dating back to 2012. In a statement made today, Gascon pledged to reopen four fatal officer-involved shooting cases. In these cases, Gascon states, there was troubling use of force that was not prosecuted by his predecessor Jackie Lacey, and where the basis for the declination was contradicted by the publicly available physical evidence.

In an effort to be thorough and restore faith in the legal process and in law enforcement officers, the statement said, Gascon will be convening a group of policing experts, civil rights attorneys and community members. That group will be supported by UCI Law’s CRLC and CJC in their reviews of these four officer-involved shooting cases.

“Our clinics look forward to participating in this important effort by DA Gascon,” said Katie Tinto, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Clinic at UCI Law. “It will be an invaluable experience for the law students as well as a critical contribution to criminal justice reform in Los Angeles.”