André Birotte, Jr. [Inspector General]
Mr. Birotte joined the Office of the Inspector General in 2001. In 2003, he was appointed Inspector General of the Los Angeles Police Department by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. Mr. Birotte and his staff of approximately 32 employees, which include lawyers, professional auditors and former law enforcement executives, are responsible for conducting and overseeing LAPD internal investigations and audits to ensure compliance with both LAPD policies and mandates from the Federal Consent Decree. Mr. Birotte holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law. Following law school, Mr. Birotte worked as a deputy public defender in Los Angeles where he represented indigent clients charged with felony and misdemeanor offenses in several phases of criminal proceedings including preliminary hearings, pretrial conferences, arraignments and over 30 trials. He then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office, where he investigated and prosecuted numerous violent crime, fraud and narcotics trafficking cases. Thereafter, he joined the Quinn Emanuel law firm, where he represented clients in white-collar crime and commercial litigation matters.
Mr. Birotte is a member of the Langston Bar Association, and served on its board of directors from 1992 through 2003. He also serves as a judge pro tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court. Mr. Birotte is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Judicial Appointment’s Committee and Criminal Justice Executive Committee. He has taught legal writing and advocacy at the University of Southern California Law School.
Mr. Birotte has spoken before a variety of community organizations and civil rights groups including the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, the Association of Government Accountants, Community Police Advisory Boards, LAPD recruit classes and local Law Schools and Universities on the role of the Office of the Inspector General. Mr. Birotte has also made several local and national media appearances (print and broadcast) to discuss issues and policies regarding the Los Angeles Police Department.
Nicole Bershon [Assistant Inspector General]
Nicole Bershon holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law. While in law school, she co-founded the UCLA Women's Law Journal and served as its Co-Editor in Chief during her third year. Following law school, she joined the law firm of Stutman, Treister & Glatt, a bankruptcy boutique, where she represented mostly corporate debtors in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and out-of-court work-outs. She then joined the law firm of Irell & Manella where she worked on civil litigation and white collar criminal defense matters. She left private practice to join the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office where she spent five years in the criminal side of the office, prosecuting a variety of misdemeanors, including domestic violence matters, narcotics offenses, and gang-related crimes. She then spent over a year in the Police Division of the City Attorney's Office, representing the Los Angeles Police Department and individual officers, first in connection with Pitchess requests for peace officer personnel records, and later in connection with civil litigation matters. Ms. Bershon is active in the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, sitting on its Board of Governors and the Appointive Office Committee, as well as co-chairing the Criminal Justice Section.
Gary McCaskill [Assistant Inspector General]
Gary McCaskill holds an undergraduate degree from California State University Long Beach and graduate degree from California Lutheran University. Mr. McCaskill joined the Ventura Police Department in 1970 where his assignments included patrol, traffic, detectives and internal affairs. As Mr. McCaskill rose in the ranks of the police department, he had the responsibility to manage the Professional Standards Bureau, Investigations, Information Technology, Communications and Finance. Mr. McCaskill retired in 2003 at the rank of Assistant Police Chief. After working in the private sector, Mr. McCaskill joined the Office of the Inspector General in 2008.
Django Sibley [Assistant Inspector General]
Django Sibley holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Liverpool and a graduate degree from the University of Southern California. In his undergraduate and graduate studies, Mr. Sibley conducted extensive research regarding police-community relations and crime control. Mr. Sibley began his professional career as a police officer in Hull, England, and later worked for the Los Angeles-based Police Assessment Resource Center. Upon joining the Office of the Inspector General in 2004, Mr. Sibley served as a Special Investigator assigned to the Use of Force Section, which oversees the Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation and adjudication of categorical use of force incidents. Mr. Sibley assumed the position of Assistant Inspector General in 2007 and currently heads the Use of Force Section.
Susan Hutson [Assistant Inspector General]
The Office of the Inspector General welcomed Susan Hutson as an assistant inspector general in June of 2007. Ms. Hutson holds an undergraduate degree from the University Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law. After law school, she joined a small firm of lawyers, where she had a general practice. She left private practice to join the Corpus Christi City Attorney's Office where she served as an assistant city attorney prosecuting cases in the Municipal Court. She was promoted to chief prosecutor and later moved to the Employment Section, where she advised city directors on numerous employment matters, including disciplinary, constitutional, discrimination, and compensation issues. Her primary responsibilities were consulting with the chief of police, the fire chief, and other supervisors on misconduct investigations and representing the city during arbitrations and civil service hearings. Her experience in dealing with Internal Affairs and civil service law led her to the Office of the Police Monitor in Austin, Texas. She began as the Assistant Police Monitor in August of 2004 and took over as the acting police monitor in January of 2006. While working at the City of Austin, Ms. Hutson published Annual Reports for the office, which provide valuable information to the community about how their police department monitors itself. Ms. Hutson has also taught college courses to both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Incarnate Word.
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