Newly released footage shows a top aide for Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon getting arrested after police pulled over his former fiancé at a traffic stop in 2021.
Joseph Iniguez, who then served as the chief of staff of Gascon, got pulled over while returning home from a wedding with his then fiancé. Iniguez, who filmed the traffic stop on his cellphone, confronted the officers and ordered his fiancé not to answer any questions. Iniguez is now the No. 2 prosecutor in Los Angeles following his promotion to chief deputy district attorney.
“You have pulled over the wrong person, let me tell you. He actually has—” Iniguez said.
“Let him do his job, and like I said, you can go to the station,” an officer behind the camera advised.
“He is not a DRE [drug recognition expert]. He’s not a DRE,” he pushed back. “You’re under no obligation to answer any questions of his. You’re under no obligation to answer any questions of his. And he believes you’re intoxicated, he’ll arrest you. He didn’t drink tonight! Partner, he didn’t drink tonight!”
Video From 2021 Shows Los Angeles DA Gascón’s No. 2, Righthand Man Joseph Iniguez Arrested on Public Intoxication
Source: https://t.co/yXvqbtIYW0 pic.twitter.com/SsPEFjLUcJ
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Iniguez demanded the officers check his license plates to “see what [they] find,” indicating they will learn he works for the DA’s office. He threatened to take a potential arrest to court to learn if there is real sufficient cause for detainment. (RELATED: Meet The Candidates Running To Unseat George Gascon)
The officer placed his fiancé in the back of the car and informed Iniguez he was also under arrest for public intoxication.
“Sir, you’re currently in public and you’re intoxicated. You’re being placed under arrest right now. Turn around for me, placed your hands behind your back,” the officer ordered, followed by the camera being turned off.
Additional inaudible footage shows Iniguez at the jail being questioned by officers, according to Fox News.
He sued the police department over what he alleged was a federal civil rights violation and received a $10,000 settlement, according to Fox News.
Another top Gascon aide, Diana Teran, is facing an 11-count indictment over allegations that she improperly accessed Brady material against Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies, according to Fox News. She is accused of accessing the sheriff’s database and taking the information to the district attorney’s office and “impermissibly” used that data to assist.
Iniguez is named in a 2022 lawsuit filed by The Association of Deputy District Attorneys as an individual who allegedly ordered subordinates to break the law, according to Fox News.
