DA Jackie Lacey says her office won't charge protesters arrested on curfew violations
Los Angeles, CA JUNE 2, 2020: Arrests made for curfew vilotation after a day of peaceful protest against police brutality and to demonstrate in Los Angeles, CA. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd. (Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times (Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said Monday that her office will not pursue charges for protesters arrested on curfew violations or failure to disperse.
"I believe whole-heartedly in free speech and support the right or protesters to demonstrate peacefully against historic racial injustice in our criminal justice system and throughout our nation," Lacey said in a statement. "I want to encourage the exchange of ideas and work to establish dialogue between law enforcement and protesters so that we may implement enduring systemic change."
Lacey's office handles curfew violations in parts of the county, including unincorporated areas, without their own local prosecutor's office. However, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Torrance, Burbank, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach all prosecute misdemeanors that occur in their jurisdictions.
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Hundreds of people were arrested across the county over the past week during and after protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.
Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. His death prompted protests across the U.S. and around the world against police brutality and racial injustice.
More than 7,000 National Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and other cities to assist local law enforcement, the California National Guard said. While the vast majority of protests have been peaceful, there were violent clashes with police and hundreds of businesses were vandalized.
The National Guard troops were in the process of being pulled out of California on Sunday, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.