LASD Officer Gregory Van Hoesne killed two Black men without consequence

How many “bad apples” do you need to see before you decide the tree is rotten?

Source: Horacio Villalobos / Getty

Despite the historic nationwide protests during the summer of 2020, there is still a LOT of work to be done to either rid America of policing institutions entirely or at the very least rid policing institutions of officers like Gregory Van Hoesen. We came across Van Hoesen’s story on Knock-LA and his history as a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy is violent and without justification. However, it should come as no surprise that he still wears a gun and badge to this day.

Gregory Van Hoesen is responsible for the deaths of both 16-year-old Anthony “AJ” Weber and 21-year-old Jamaal Michael Simpson on February 4, 2018 and August 2, 2019 respectively. The LASD insists that both were armed and dangerous in contradiction to the actual evidence. When Van Hoesen killed Weber, he fired his service weapon 13 times claiming that he feared for his life. No weapon was ever recovered near Weber’s body and the LASD wants us to believe that some mysterious Bruce Wayne-esque individual took the pistol and disappeared into the crowd like Batman.

Just one year later, Van Hoesen killed Simpson with “at least” 18 gunshot wounds following an attempted traffic stop and a “chase” that reached pedestrian speeds of less than 30 mph. The description of what those bullets did to his body is gruesome but it paints a painful picture of exactly the type of violence that police are inflicting upon us.

The bullets left gaping holes in his legs and groin, shredded his arms, and blew off the tip of one of his fingers. The fatal shot went through his neck, tearing through his mouth and dislodging his teeth.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors eventually agreed to pay Weber’s family $3.75 million. Sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We highly suggest that you go to Knock-LA and read the entire article for yourself to see just how deep the pain and corruption goes…