Why L.A. Police Misconduct Charges Are Being Dropped
By Darius Spearman (africanelements)
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The streets of Los Angeles have long been a stage for the struggle between law enforcement and the communities they serve. For many families in the Black community, the quest for justice feels like a door that opens slightly only to be slammed shut. Recent headlines show a major shift in how the Los Angeles County District Attorney handles cases of police misconduct. New reporting reveals that charges against officers in several high-profile killings are being dropped or softened. This change marks a new chapter in a decades-long history of legal battles and political maneuvers.
One case at the center of this storm involves the 2018 killing of Christopher Deandre Mitchell in Torrance. For years, his family and local activists fought to see the officers involved face trial. After a brief window where it seemed the system might hold them accountable, the momentum has reversed. The current legal landscape under District Attorney Nathan Hochman is moving away from the aggressive prosecution of police officers. This shift is not just about one case. It reflects a deeper change in how the city defines “justice” and “safety” for its residents (latimes.com).
The Long Road to Accountability in Los Angeles
To understand what is happening today, one must look back at the history of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. For a very long time, the office rarely brought criminal charges against law enforcement officers. Under District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who served from 2012 to 2020, the office faced constant pressure from activists. They argued that the system was designed to protect officers rather than the public. During a twenty-year period ending in 2020, only two officers were criminally charged for their actions while on duty. This created a feeling of deep distrust among Black residents who saw their loved ones die at the hands of the police with no legal consequences (lacounty.gov).
The foundation of how L.A. investigates these shootings goes back to 1979. That year, the “Roll-Out” program was created. It required the District Attorney’s office to send investigators to every scene where an officer shot someone. While this sounded like a step toward transparency, many community leaders felt it was a hollow promise. They viewed it as a way to create paperwork that almost always concluded the shootings were justified. This historical pattern set the stage for the massive protests that would eventually shake the city (ojp.gov).
Average Yearly Officers Charged (Misconduct)
The 2018 shooting of Christopher Deandre Mitchell happened during this era of non-prosecution. On December 9, Torrance police officers Anthony Chavez and Matthew Concannon approached Mitchell. He was sitting in a car that they suspected was stolen. The officers claimed they saw Mitchell holding a weapon. They fired, killing the 23-year-old. It was later found that Mitchell was holding an air rifle. The officers said they mistook it for a real shotgun. In 2019, Jackie Lacey’s office decided not to file any charges. They ruled that the officers acted in self-defense. This decision was a familiar sting to a community already mourning too many losses (latimes.com, laist.com).
The 2020 Turning Point and Policy Shifts
The year 2020 changed everything. After the murder of George Floyd, a wave of energy for educational resources and reform hit the polls. George Gascón was elected as District Attorney on a promise to hold police accountable. He created a special unit to look back at old cases that were previously closed. This was a radical departure from the past. Gascón’s office used a “novel theory” called tactical negligence. This theory looks at the minutes leading up to a shooting. It asks if the officers’ own bad decisions created a dangerous situation that did not need to happen (latimes.com).
Gascón’s approach was also supported by a new state law. California Assembly Bill 392, also known as “The California Act to Save Lives,” went into effect in 2020. This law changed the standard for when police can use deadly force. Before this law, the standard was whether the force was “reasonable.” After 2020, the law said force must be “necessary.” This means officers should only use their guns when there are no other ways to prevent death or serious injury. Gascón used these new ideas to reopen the Christopher Mitchell case. In April 2023, his office secured a voluntary manslaughter indictment against the two Torrance officers. For a moment, it seemed the pendulum had swung toward justice (pbs.org).
However, this shift was met with strong pushback. Police unions and some legal experts argued that Gascón was being too aggressive. They claimed that the “necessary” standard from the 2020 law could not be applied to cases that happened before the law was passed. This legal tension became a major issue in the next election. When Nathan Hochman ran for District Attorney in 2024, he promised a different way. He called his philosophy the “Hard Middle.” He wanted to move away from what he called “mass decarceration” but also stay away from the “blanket” defenses of the past (dailyjournal.com).
The Dismissal of the Mitchell Case
When Nathan Hochman took office, he began reviewing the cases Gascón had started. One of his first major moves was to file a motion to dismiss the manslaughter charges against the officers who killed Christopher Mitchell. This decision, made in late 2025 and finalized in early 2026, sent shockwaves through the community. Hochman based his decision on a review by a special prosecutor, Michael Gennaco. The review concluded that the state could not prove the officers acted unreasonably under the law as it stood in 2018 (latimes.com).
The core of the issue was the air rifle Mitchell was holding. Under the old “reasonable” standard, an officer’s mistake of fact can be a legal defense. If an officer truly believes a toy or air rifle is a real weapon, and another officer in that same spot would feel the same, the shooting is often ruled legal. Since the air rifle Mitchell held looked like a real shotgun and did not have a bright orange tip, Hochman argued that a jury would likely find the officers’ fear was reasonable. By dropping the charges, Hochman signaled that he would not follow Gascón’s path of trying to win cases based on “tactical errors” from the past (latimes.com, laist.com).
Focus of Police Charges (2025)
This decision left the Mitchell family in a state of perpetual grief. They had waited years for a trial, only to see it vanish just as it was within reach. This outcome highlights the difficulty of retroactively applying new reform laws. Even though the public demanded change in 2020, the courts are often bound by the rules that existed at the time of the incident. For many, this feels like a technicality that allows injustice to persist. The dismissal shows that under current leadership, the “Hard Middle” approach prioritizes strict evidence standards over the “novel” theories of the progressive era (dailyjournal.com).
Softened Charges in the Edward Bronstein Case
The shift in policy also affected the case of Edward Bronstein. In 2020, Bronstein died while being restrained by California Highway Patrol officers. He was being held down for a blood draw after a traffic stop. Video of the incident showed him screaming “I can’t breathe” multiple times before he went limp. George Gascón had originally charged seven officers and a nurse with involuntary manslaughter. This case was seen as a major test of whether “tactical negligence” could lead to a conviction in a non-shooting death (latimes.com).
In early 2026, Hochman’s office significantly changed the course of this prosecution. They dismissed the manslaughter charges against all but one of the officers. Even for that one officer, the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor with probation. This was a drastic reduction in accountability compared to the original felony charges. The move suggested that the District Attorney’s office did not believe they could win a manslaughter case in front of a jury. They chose a path that ensured some form of penalty, even if it was much smaller than what the family wanted (latimes.com).
Interestingly, while the criminal case was falling apart, the civil system worked differently. The Bronstein family received a record-breaking $24 million settlement from the state. This creates a confusing picture for the public. How can the government pay millions of dollars because of an officer’s actions, yet the officer is not found “guilty” of a crime? The answer lies in the “burden of proof.” In a civil case, the family only has to prove that it is “more likely than not” that the officers were at fault. In a criminal case, the prosecutor must prove it “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This high bar is often where cases against police officers fail (pbs.org).
The Case of Brendan Glenn and Clifford Proctor
Another high-profile case being re-evaluated is the killing of Brendan Glenn. Glenn was a homeless man who was shot by LAPD Officer Clifford Proctor in 2015. At the time, even the LAPD Chief, Charlie Beck, said the shooting was not justified. He recommended that the District Attorney charge Proctor with manslaughter. However, Jackie Lacey declined to do so. It was a major point of anger for supporters of the movement during the 2020 elections. Gascón eventually indicted Proctor in 2024, nearly a decade after the shooting (latimes.com).
Now, with Hochman in office, the Proctor case is back under review. Like the Mitchell case, it is an older incident that was reopened during the progressive era. Reports indicate that the District Attorney’s office is looking at whether the case meets current standards for a successful prosecution. The concern for the community is that the “Hard Middle” will lead to the dismissal of this case as well. If the Proctor case is dropped, it would mean that even when a Police Chief says a shooting was wrong, the legal system still cannot find a way to prosecute (latimes.com).
Civil Settlements vs. Criminal Charges
Charges Softened
Under Review
The re-evaluation of these cases shows a clear pattern. The “Hard Middle” approach values certainty and traditional legal standards. While Nathan Hochman is still charging police officers, the nature of those charges has changed. In 2025, many of the 15 officers charged were accused of administrative or property crimes. These include things like overtime fraud, looting, or evidence tampering. While these are serious issues, they are very different from the use-of-force cases that the public has been marching for. It allows the District Attorney to say he is holding police accountable while avoiding the difficult and politically charged trials for fatal shootings (dailyjournal.com).
The Future of Police Accountability
The current state of affairs in Los Angeles suggests a move back to a more conservative era of prosecution. Donald Trump is the current president, and his administration’s focus on “law and order” often mirrors the shift seen in local offices like Hochman’s. For the Black community, this feels like a retreat from the promises of 2020. The use of special prosecutors like Michael Gennaco was intended to bring independence to investigations. However, when those investigators recommend dismissals, it reinforces the belief that the law is still weighted in favor of the badge (latimes.com, dailyjournal.com).
There is also the issue of “procedural justice.” This is the idea that the system must not only be fair but must also look fair to the people. When a District Attorney shifts focus to fraud and tampering, it may help the “integrity of the system” on paper. But for the mother of Christopher Mitchell or the family of Edward Bronstein, it does nothing to heal the wound of a lost life. The disconnect between million-dollar civil settlements and dismissed criminal charges remains a major hurdle for public trust (pbs.org).
As Los Angeles moves forward, the “Hard Middle” will be tested. If the office continues to drop charges in high-profile killings, the pressure from activists will likely return. The history of the LADA’s office shows that policy is often a reaction to the climate of the times. The pendulum has swung from the era of Jackie Lacey to the reform of George Gascón and now to the “Hard Middle” of Nathan Hochman. What remains constant is the need for a system that values all lives equally. Until the community feels that an officer-involved shooting is treated with the same weight as any other killing, the shadow of the 1979 “Roll-Out” era will continue to loom over the city (lacounty.gov).
About the Author
Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College, where he has been teaching for over 20 years. He is the founder of African Elements, a media platform dedicated to providing educational resources on the history and culture of the African diaspora. Through his work, Spearman aims to empower and educate by bringing historical context to contemporary issues affecting the Black community.
