A deputy district attorney in Los Angeles said her boss, Democratic District Attorney George Gascón, fired her after she whistleblowed a memo about prosecuting street racing crimes, a serious problem in the county. He said plainclothes agents were sent to his home to intimidate him. .
“There was absolutely no need or rationality in that approach,” prosecutor Tatiana Chahoian told FOX News Digital. “This was purely an intimidation tactic, especially for someone like me who is working remotely due to medical considerations.”
Chahoian said that when he opened the door, he found an envelope and a woman who identified herself as a sergeant from the prosecutor’s office, the in-house police department’s investigation bureau.
Ring camera video shows the woman ringing the doorbell multiple times, shoving a letter into the doorframe, and then walking up and down the front lawn multiple times before Chahoian opens the door.
The woman gave her name and told someone off-camera on her way out: “She came to the door. This is just my partner,” before getting into her car and driving away.
“It is ridiculous for Mr. Gascón to personally submit a letter to the deputy prosecutor alleging that he violated personnel policies,” said Neema Rahmani, a Los Angeles public defender and former federal prosecutor.
“This is something that should be handled by email, and it appears that he sent the email to threaten or otherwise send a message to his subordinates.”
The incident occurred a few days after Chahoian spoke. FOX 11 Los Angeles She received a memo from John Harlan, Gascon’s Chief Assistant Charge Evaluator, asking prosecutors not to pursue criminal cases against suspects accused of street racing, reckless driving and road hijacking without consequences. Afterwards, he reportedly went into a “state of shock.” Due to injury.
“It’s like saying if someone fires a gun at another person and the shot goes wrong and misses, we won’t press charges because nothing happened,” she told the station.
Representatives from Gascón’s office declined to discuss the details of the case.
“We cannot comment on specific personnel matters,” spokeswoman Venus Dunn told Fox News Digital. “That being said, integrity is extremely important to prosecutors. It is a fundamental responsibility of our office to address false allegations by district attorney staff and the media. It increases distrust of the important work we do every day and undermines our obligations to the public and justice.”
In a hand-to-hand reprimand, Laura Kessner, Gascon’s central operations manager, said Chahoian failed to warn his superiors before giving a media interview and indicated that he was speaking in a private capacity during the interview. He scolded her for not being able to explain the characteristics of the comment. As her own personal opinion.
Mr. Kesner also called Mr. Chahoian a liar.
“Your statements to the media are false, misrepresentations of communications from Chief of Staff John Harlan, and inconsistent with LADA.” [personnel policy handbook], and was misleading to the public,” Kessner wrote. “Your comments were also an insult to my colleagues who work diligently every day to promote public safety in an ethical manner.”
Kessner cited Harlan’s memo in his letter, which began by saying, “Public hearings/PDP inquiries should be conducted in cases of street racing/hijacking and other reckless driving incidents (i.e., where no one is physically injured). I am writing this letter to emphasize that this is an option for those who are not involved in the incident.”
PDP refers to a pre-diversion program, an alternative to prison that has historically been offered to nonviolent first-time offenders.
Kessner also said Harlan’s letter “concludes by stating that he ‘encouraged’ filing agents to consider the program.”
Chahoian countered that the letter to her was taken like an order.
“My comments were completely accurate,” Chahoian told FOX News Digital. “We all know that when your boss ‘encourages’ you to do something, especially if your boss is a Gascon, it’s not a friendly reminder.”
The department implemented a diversion program in 2021, she said.
“We had never received that notice before. Why? Because they want us to do it now,” she said. “Why wasn’t this sent to the entire office to apply to existing cases? They only sent it to the agent who filed it, so we can deny these pending charges and I will refer them to the office for hearing.”
Jonathan Hatami, another deputy district attorney who is one of several candidates vying to oust Gascón in the county’s Democratic primary Tuesday, said it was unclear whether the road race memo should be considered a directive, but that Gascón He said that the response to the aftermath was inadequate. Top.
“Gascon sent police officers to the young DDA’s home to deliver a threatening letter demanding that he immediately stop speaking to the media,” he said. “Again, no matter where you sit regarding our criminal justice system, these types of intimidation and bullying tactics have no place here in Los Angeles.”
