Los Angeles D.A.’s Husband Pulls Gun on Black Lives Matter Protesters

“You were supposed to meet with us six months ago,” an activist shouted at Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey during a Jan. 29 debate. He wasn’t the only one yelling. Multiple protesters came to confront Lacey about the more than 500 police shootings that have taken place during her seven-year tenure. They were angry about Lacey’s constantly delayed promises to meet with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles members and other activists about the shootings and other police concerns. They waited over two years for a meeting that never came, according to HuffPost.

They were tired of the delays, California State University, Los Angeles, professor and Black Lives Matter organizer Melina Abdullah told the Los Angeles Times, “So we decided to have the meeting in front of her house.” When approximately 30 protesters arrived Monday morning, a man met them with a gun.

According to the Times, “Video from the scene shows a man standing in Lacey’s doorway in Granada Hills pointing a gun and shouting, ‘I will shoot you. Get off of my porch.’”

I’m front of DA Jackie Lacey’s house for that community meeting she promised with the @BLMLA crew. Rang her bell to invite her.

Her husband pulled a gun, cocked it, pointed it at my chest and said “I’ll shoot you. I don’t care who you are.” @WP4BL @RealJusticePAC @shaunking pic.twitter.com/WtazUWSJIC

— Melina Abdullah (@DocMellyMel) March 2, 2020

Los Angeles district attorney spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales confirmed to the Times that the man with the gun was Jackie Lacey’s husband, David Lacey, a retired investigative auditor for the district attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.

Police arrived at around 5:40 a.m., after someone reported the protesters, an officer confirmed to the Times. No one has been charged in connection with the protests. Kate Chatfield, senior adviser for legislation and policy at the Justice Collaborative, a criminal justice advocacy organization, told HuffPost that Lacey’s husband’s actions could be classified as making a criminal threat or assault with a firearm. Either could be considered “serious felonies” or “strikes” under California law, she said.

Abdullah and the other activists remained outside the home for two hours after Lacey pulled the gun. As HuffPost reports, “They took turns speaking and chanted, ‘Jackie Lacey must go, Jackie Lacey will go.’” They held signs reading “#ByeJackie” and “Honk if you think DA Jackie Lacey should prosecute cops who kill.”

The district attorney was unrepentant in a press conference Monday, accusing activists of trying to “embarrass” and “intimidate” her. According to HuffPost, she told assembled reporters, “I am grateful, however, for this challenge, because I had no idea how strong I was until I got ready to come down here.”

The incident occurred the day before Los Angeles is set to vote on whether to give Lacey another term. She faces two progressive challengers, George Gascón, a former San Francisco district attorney who enacted criminal justice reforms, and Rachel Rossi, a former public defender. Gascón declined to comment to the Times on the confrontation.

Rossi commented on Twitter, writing “I will never run from the community,” and “And I never thought I’d have to say it, but I will also never threaten to shoot community members protesting for change. What kind of leadership is this?”