Husband of Los Angeles DA pulls gun on Black Lives Matter protesters
The husband of Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey pulled a gun on Black Lives Matter protesters outside the couple’s home early Monday morning.
Police said they were called to the home around 5:40 a.m. after being told some 50 demonstrators were outside. No arrests were made.
Video posted on social media shows David Lacey holding a firearm in the doorway of his Grenada Hills home, as organizer Melina Abdullah says off-camera “Good morning. Are you going to shoot me?”
“I will shoot you. Get off my porch,” he responds.
Abdullah then asks if he can tell Lacey that the protesters are here.
“I don’t care who you are, get off of my porch right now. We’re calling the police right now,” he replies.
The incident came on the eve of Lacey’s primary election, in which she is seeking a third term.
The top prosecutor, who is black, has repeatedly clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters, who accuse her of being too protective of law enforcement and not prosecuting officers in fatal shootings.
The activists claimed they were forced to go to Lacey’s home after she promised to arrange a meeting with them but never delivered.
“So we decided to have the meeting in front of her house,” Abdullah, a Cal State Los Angeles professor, told the Los Angeles Times.
Lacey said she’d agreed to meet with members of the group one-on-one or in small gatherings but that they had rejected those offers.
During an emotional news conference on Monday, Lacey apologized on behalf of her husband, who was an investigative auditor with the DA’s office until his 2016 retirement.
“His response was in fear, and now that he realizes what happened, he wanted me to say to the protesters, the person that he showed the gun to, that he was sorry, that he was profoundly sorry,” Lacey said, before also apologizing.
But the prosecutor also blasted the protesters, for what she said was continued harassment, including death threats, throughout her tenure.
“Our home is our sanctuary,” she said. “I do not believe it is fair or right for protesters to show up at the homes of people who dedicate their lives to public service.”
Black Lives Matter organizers rebuffed Lacey’s apology and said they were “traumatized” by the incident.
“She didn’t apologize to us,” Abdullah said. “And an apology isn’t enough. We need her to change. We need her to be accountable or she can retire.”
With Post wires