Gascón Defends Treatment of Parolee who Killed El Monte Officers

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who has come under fire over the disposition of a 2021 criminal case against a man who fatally shot two El Monte police officers last week, defended his office's handling of the matter Tuesday, insisting a plea agreement that allowed the man to avoid jail time was "appropriate under the circumstances."

Critics of Gascón and the parents of one of the slain officers have lashed out at the district attorney in the days following the fatal shootout that occurred last Tuesday afternoon.

At a news conference Tuesday in his office, Gascón defended the handling of Flores' case, City News Service reports.

"We had an individual who was drug addicted for many years," Gascón said. "He had been arrested multiple times for a variety of low-level offenses. (Last year's) case was a case where he stole a television when he broke into his grandparents' house and he was high at the time. He went through a lengthy period of time without any contact with the criminal justice system."

"... The reality is that when you have the history that this individual had, the outcome was appropriate under the circumstances," Gascón said.