LA DA ‘intimidated’ with gun on doorstep sues DA fighting for his job

A deputy prosecutor in Los Angeles is suing his boss at the last minute as he faces a tough re-election race on Tuesday.

The infighting between Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon and his own office could continue to cost county taxpayers millions of dollars even if he loses.

Gascon faces about two dozen similar retaliation lawsuits from top prosecutors in his office, who have flagged the actions as soft on crime, unfair to victims and potentially illegal.

Fellow Deputy District Attorney Shawn Randolph received a $1.5 million settlement last year after she sued for retaliation, arguing she was demoted to a lesser position after she raised concerns about Gascon’s policies that may have violated victims’ Marsy’s Law rights. Another prosecutor, Richard Doyle, received an $800,000 settlement in his own whistleblower lawsuit.

PROSECUTOR SAYS CHIEF GASCON SENT POLICE TO INTIMIDATE HER HOME AFTER BLOWING WHISTLE ON SOFT-ON-CRIME REPORT

Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Tatiana Chahoian found herself in hot water after an interview with FOX 11 Los Angeles in which she blew the whistle on how to prosecute street racing and street “takeover” cases in the county. (FOX 11 Los Angeles)

Gascon was recently fired in another retaliation lawsuit brought by John Lewin, the assistant district attorney who put the subject of “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” and real estate heir. Robert Durst behind bars.

In September, the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys sued Gascon for allegedly improperly refusing or ignoring public records requests.

The latest lawsuit is that of Tatiana Chahoian, another deputy district attorney who raised concerns about a memo urging prosecutors to downplay street racing cases after a wealthy Los Angeles socialite, Rebecca Grossman, killed two boys and narrowly missed hitting his mother and third child in a crosswalk.

In response, Gascon allegedly sent an armed officer to her home with a disciplinary note, blocked her from routine promotions and assigned her an “overwhelming workload” of 60 to 100 cases a day. Chahoian felt so bad about the alleged retaliation that she fell into poor health, dropped to just 89 pounds and had to take several sick leaves to recover, according to her lawsuit.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon speaks to the media during a press conference regarding developments in the case of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

“To illustrate this demanding schedule, Chahoian’s presence was required in so many places that she could not even use the restroom without first asking permission,” her attorneys wrote in a civil complaint.

After suffering a seizure while driving home from work, she obtained a doctor’s note saying she should not drive for more than 15 minutes at a time. Her superiors allegedly forced her to continue the 55-minute commute for a month before transferring her to another position, where she immediately thrived, according to the lawsuit.

Gascon’s chief deputy for charge review, John Harlan, in an internal memo urged prosecutors not to pursue criminal cases against suspects accused of street racing, reckless driving and street pickups that did not result in injury, according to Chahoian’s lawsuit.

Instead, prosecutors were told to consider “earlier deferral of prosecution” – which her lawyers likened to “a stern warning with minimal accountability”.

An investigator from the Los Angeles district attorney’s office delivered a letter of reprimand to the prosecutor’s front door, a move the recipient says was intended to intimidate her after she spoke out in a controversial memo. (Courtesy of Tatiana Chahoian)

AT THE “WAKEN UP” GIVEN BY HIS OWN OR OFFICE FOR THE ALLEGED PROTECTION OF THE ETHICS CHIEF CHARGED WITH CRIMES

The memo encouraged prosecutors to “act against the law,” according to Chahoian, who expressed his concerns in a local television interview after receiving it.

“It’s like saying if somebody shoots somebody and it’s a bad shot and they miss, we’re not going to press charges because nothing happened,” she said. FOX 11 Los Angeles at the time, adding that the internal notification had left her in a “state of shock”.

Reading the process.

Days after the interview aired, an armed DA’s office investigator showed up at her door with a disciplinary warning that would normally have been sent by email, she told Fox News Digital.

According to the lawsuit, Gascon’s office also passed her over for a promotion in retaliation for her public remarks.

“For nearly four years now, George Gascon has lied to the people he took an oath to serve,” Chahoian said through his legal team over the weekend. “His misguided policies have led to increased violence and amplified a rhetoric of”the criminals are the victims, and the victims are an inconvenience”.

Gascon faces independent candidate Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, on Election Day. He received endorsements from the DA deputy union and many individual prosecutors who sued Gascon for alleged retaliation or challenged his policies.

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“Ms. Chahoian acted in the public interest by expressing concern about prosecution policies that put lives at risk; this case underscores her courage to uphold those values ​​even in the face of Gascon’s attempts to intimidate her into silence,” one of her attorneys, Anthony Fusaro, said in a statement.

“By consistently prioritizing the interests of criminals over the lives and safety of Los Angeles residents, Gascon has neglected his duty to uphold justice — and his response to criticism shows a disturbing reliance on intimidation rather than constructive engagement with his prosecutors to to protect the audience it has. sworn to serve.”

A spokesman for Gascon’s office declined to discuss the lawsuit.

“Our office does not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters,” she told Fox News Digital.