Gascon Chief of Staff Sues LACo Over Demotion, Termination

Former District Attorney George Gascon’s chief of staff sued Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and another prosecutor Wednesday, alleging she was demoted for her support of Gascon’s reform policies and because of her race, age and gender.

Former Deputy District Attorney Tiffiny Blacknell, who is Black, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the county, Hochman and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin. The latter previously filed and settled his own lawsuit against the county in which he maintained he suffered a backlash over his criticisms of Gascon’s reforms.

Blacknell seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A representative for the District Attorney’s Office said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Blacknell, 48, is a former deputy public defender who was hired by the county in 2002. Her suit states that her transfer to the District Attorney’s Office by Gascon and her filling of various roles there, including chief of staff, “placed her in the crosshairs for attack” by those who opposed Gascon’s attempts to make changes.

“Blacknell “quickly became the target of intense and unfounded attacks” from within the prosecutor’s office that came from the mainstream as well as the social media, ranging from the mundane to outright threats, her attorneys wrote. “In particular, Ms. Blacknell’s vocal opposition to police brutality and the historic failure of the (District Attorney’s Office) to hold law enforcement accountable for brutality and killings triggered fierce backlash from those that opposed the (agency’s) evolving values under DA Gascon.”

Lewin called Blacknell “corrupt,” “crazy,” a “police-hating nut job” and “unqualified” while also contending that “two dogs were more qualified to be a prosecutor,” her suit alleges. In announcing his campaign, Hochman called Blacknell “the worst chief of staff in Los Angeles County history” and the most “unqualified, pro-criminal chief of staff in Los Angeles County history,” the suit further contends.

After Lewin allegedly defamed Blacknell, Hochman gave him a position in major crimes, the suit states. Blacknell suffered a “cardiac event” last October, sought psychiatric treatment, took a leave of absence a month later and was demoted by Hochman to a subordinate position back with the Public Defender’s Office, according to her suit.