Grand jury to examine fatal shooting involving Torrance cops tied to racist text scandal

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has convened a grand jury to consider criminal charges against two ex-Torrance police officers linked to a racist texting scandal who shot and killed a Black man in 2018, according to documents reviewed by The Times.

The grand jury is expected to meet Tuesday to begin hearing evidence in connection with the death of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell, who was holding an air rifle and seated inside a car when he was fatally shot by former Officers Anthony Chavez and Matthew Concannon, according to a letter reviewed by The Times and a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the case. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because grand jury matters are secret.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

In a statement, Tom Yu, Chavez’s attorney, said Chavez “justifiably and in self-defense and in defense of his partner, utilized deadly force on Mr. Mitchell on December 9, 2018.” Yu said the shooting was cleared by the previous district attorney and called the reopening of the case by D.A. George Gascón, “entirely motivated by politics and due to the campaign promises by Mr. Gascon to his constituents.”

“We look forward to defending Mr. Chavez if there are charges brought as a result of the grand jury proceeding,” he said in the statement.

It was unclear who was representing Concannon.

Former Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey cleared both officers of wrongdoing in 2018, but the case was one of four that Gascón promised to reopen after he took office in 2020 and hired special prosecutor Lawrence Middleton in 2021. It was Middleton’s decision to convene the grand jury, according to the document reviewed by The Times

Gascón and Middleton, who has declined multiple interview requests, have faced repeated criticism for the special prosecutor’s expensive contract and the seeming glacial pace of the investigations of the four cases. Some inside the office have bristled at Middleton potentially overriding work that had already been completed. But Monday’s news seemed certain to appease activists who have called on Gascón to deliver on one of his central campaign promises.

It was not clear what charges the grand jury would consider, but officers often face prosecutions for murder, manslaughter or assault under color of authority when accused of using their weapons without justification. There is no timetable for the grand jury process, but it would circumvent the need for a preliminary hearing, putting the officers on a swifter path to trial if they are indicted.

In December 2018, Concannon and Chavez pulled up to Mitchell, who was suspected of driving a stolen vehicle, in a Ralph’s parking lot in Torrance, according to an earlier district attorney’s office memo clearing the officers of wrongdoing.

The officers parked behind Mitchell, exited their vehicle and yelled, “Police!” Mitchell initially placed his hands on the steering wheel, according to the memo.

The officers repeatedly ordered Mitchell to get out of the car, but he did not comply, according to the report. When they approached him, the officers noticed Mitchell’s hands move toward his lap, where Concannon saw what he believed to be a firearm, and they opened fire.

The officers described the weapon, later determined to be a “break barrel air rifle,” as “pinched” between Mitchell’s legs, though neither alleged he grabbed it or pointed it at them before they shot him.

Concannon and Chavez are among 13 officers The Times has been able to publicly identify as part of a racist texting scandal within Torrance’s police department. Records reviewed by The Times show the officers sent more than 390 “anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic or transphobic remarks” between 2018 and 2020, according to a district attorney’s office report. In the texts, officers joked about beating and lynching Black suspects, assaulting members of the LGBTQ community, using violence against suspects and lying during an investigation into a police shooting, according to various records reviewed by The Times.

Concannon and Chavez are no longer employed by the Torrance Police Department, according to documents the city provided in response to a public records request filed by The Times. The department has not said if they resigned or were terminated, and a police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

While the previous Times investigation did not turn up specific racist text messages sent by Concannon or Chavez, both were involved in the text thread that was the subject of a district attorney’s investigation, according to records reviewed by The Times and multiple sources with knowledge of the probe. Concannon also sent messages that were part of the investigation.

The scandal has led prosecutors to dismiss dozens of criminal cases, sparked a California attorney general’s investigation into the department and cost the city more than $10 million in lawsuits against the officers linked to the texts.

The topic of Mitchell’s death came up more than once in the exchanged texts. According to district attorney’s records reviewed by The Times in 2021, Concannon once sent a troubling text referring to a deposition he gave in the case of an officer who shot a civilian.

“They believed our lies. Good job sticking to the script,” he wrote. “LMAO, that’s what they call a W.”

Public records show Mitchell is the only person Concannon shot during his career.

In a second trove of redacted texts reviewed by The Times last year, at least one of the officers in the text scandal referred to Mitchell’s family using the N-word. In another message, one officer suggests the group should sit in the yard of one of the cops who shot Mitchell and pose like “a [firing] squad” in case protesters arrive.