FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sheila Bates
(562)-208-7014
April 16, 2026
Miscarriage of Justice!
Charges Dropped Against Cops Who Killed #ChristopherDeAndreMitchell
Conservative District Attorney Nathan Hochman Pushes Through Abandonment of Active Case Against Killer Cops from Notorious Torrance Police Department
BREAKING (Los Angeles, CA) – In one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice seen in recent years, and continuing a trend of “justice reversed,” former Torrance cops, Anthony Chavez and Matthew Concannon have been cleared of all charges at the petition of conservative Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
On December 9, 2018, Christopher De’Andre Mitchell was shot dead on video as he sat in a car in a grocery store parking lot within 15 seconds of officers arriving on the scene, while he was attempting to comply with conflicting orders. Mass protests demanding justice in Christopher’s name, led by Black Lives Matter – Torrance, Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles, White People 4 Black Lives, and Clergy 4 Black Lives, lasted years and brought regular confrontations with the Torrance City Council, the Mayor, and a former District Attorney. The brutal police response resulted in arrests and permanent injuries to protesters, including one youth being so severely injured that they are permanently wheelchair-bound.
When George Gascon was elected Los Angeles County District Attorney after the ousting of DA Jackie Lacey, he appointed a special prosecutor, convened a grand jury, and brought charges against the killer cops – who had also been embroiled in a massive racist text messaging scandal. After a fear-mongering propaganda campaign, Gascon was voted out in 2024 and replaced by Nathan Hochman – a conservative, “tough-on-crime,” former-Republican, heavily backed by police associations, who immediately dismissed the special prosecutor and filed a motion to dismiss the charges against the killer cops.
“District Attorneys are supposed to represent ‘the people’ and the interests of public safety, but Hochman chooses to prosecute protestors, not police who kill and abuse our people,” offered Sheila Bates of Black Lives Matter – Torrance.
Judge Sam Ohta granted the dismissal over the pleas from Sherlyn Haynes, Christopher’s mother. Ms. Haynes has worked tirelessly to ensure that the cops who stole the life of her only child would be held accountable. Black Lives Matter Grassroots organizers and allies, Ms. Haynes’ civil attorney, and the former special prosecutor were all at the courthouse on Thursday morning in support of Christopher’s family, and in hopes that the judge would rule in favor of police accountability and offer a small measure of justice for Christopher’s loved ones.
The dismissal of the charges against former cops Chavez and Concannon marks a deeply disturbing trend, where justice is being reversed in favor of racist, killer cops. Weeks ago, the charges against the Louisville police who killed #BreonnaTaylor were dropped by the Department of Justice and similar moves are being made to drop the charges against the cops who killed #FrankTyson in Ohio.
Black Lives Matter Grassroots is calling for a people’s response that warns communities of killer cops who pose a clear and present danger and continues to demand accountability and justice in the name of Christopher De’Andre Mitchell.
Black Lives Matter – California and each of the state’s eight chapters condemn the passage by the state legislature and signing into law by Governor Gavin Newsom of the unconstitutional and undemocratic bill AB 715 and its weak companion legislation, SB 48.
Leimert Park, Los Angeles – Black Lives Matter Grassroots now has fifty-one chapters, including three led by imprisoned folks and one in Stockholm, Sweden. The now-international organization, whose mission is to end state-sanctioned violence, convened this past weekend to celebrate twelve years since the founding of the birth of one of the largest racial justice movements in the history of the world and the very first Black Lives Matter chapter on this same spot, Leimert Park (aka Africa Town), the heart of Black Los Angeles. The organization was sprung into being after the murderer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was acquitted by a legal system that never served Black people.
“BLM Grassroots, Local Organizers, Justice Families, and Student Activists Warn of Alarming Trend of Black Students at Predominantly White Institutions BeingTargeted by White Supremacists and Cops.”
