The Beverly Hills Police Officers Association (BHPOA) has endorsed former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman in the Nov. 5 race for Los Angeles County District Attorney. Hochman is also endorsed by a long list of first responders, including police officer associations in 17 other cities, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association and the Association of Deputy District Attorneys. According to recent polls, Hochman is leading in the race against George Gascón, LA County’s current DA.
“We support Nathan Hochman for district attorney because of his plan to work together with police and other community leaders to reduce the residential burglaries and robberies and other crimes that have plagued our city,” BHPOA Board President Christian Bond told the Courier. “I mean, crime has just skyrocketed. And nothing’s been done about it. We feel that Nathan Hochman is the best choice for a district attorney.”
Hochman’s campaign focuses on restoring public safety through his Blueprint for Justice. He has stated that public safety has worsened under Gascón’s leadership, including a surge in violent crimes and property crimes.
“Homelessness is out of control. Transients are out of control. Mental health is out of control,” said Bond. He explained that Hochman’s policies on prosecuting criminals align with the BHPOA’s values.
“It’s not so much stricter policies, it’s just enforcing the laws, but doing so in a common sense and proportional manner,” Hochman told the Courier. “So, what I’ve been advocating [for] is a rejection of extreme blanket policies that don’t rely on the facts and law to make the determination.”
Hochman’s Blueprint for Justice outlines his goals as DA, including restoring the public’s trust in the district attorney and restoring the partnership between law enforcement and the district attorney’s office.
“I think that part of the [Beverly Hills Police Department’s] frustration over the last three and a half years is that when they work up very good cases against people who have been committing crimes and then submit them to the DA’s office, the DA’s office hasn’t evaluated them solely on the basis of the facts and the law, but has added an additional filter of George Gascón’s political agenda that predetermines that certain crimes and certain criminals won’t be prosecuted,” said Hochman.
Although a large portion of his endorsements come from first responders and police officer associations, he explained that as a prosecutor, Hochman has personally prosecuted police officers in the past.
“I will bring these perspectives to the office of the district attorney in order to make sure that police accountability is very viable DA’s office,” he said. “We will go and make sure that anyone who is factually innocent gets exonerated as expeditiously as possible. We’ll make sure that both implicit and explicit racial bias is either not in the decision-making process and the due process that every defendant is entitled to in the court system, or if we do detect it, we’ll deal with it.”
