(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The family of slain San Francisco police officer Isaac Espinoza is speaking out against Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, recalling her inexplicable decision not to seek the death penalty for Espinoza’s killer.
Gang member David Hill viciously gunned down Espinoza during a routine traffic stop in 2004. Harris, then-San Francisco district attorney, refused to pursue the death penalty despite the wishes of Espinoza’s family and fellow Democrats.
In a Saturday interview with the Daily Mail, Espinoza’s brother-in-law, Edgar Mendez, criticized Harris for prioritizing political promises over justice. He also said he would vote for Harris’s opponent, President Donald Trump, in 2024.
“People need to know what it was like back in 2004 when my brother-in-law passed away. She didn’t even give us a call before she decided whether she was going to seek the death penalty,” Mendez said.
Today, we remember #SFPD Officer Isaac Espinoza who we tragically lost on April 10th, 2004 in a shooting incident while investigating a suspicious person call. He faithfully served #SF for 8 years and was assigned to @SFPDBayview.
May you forever Rest In Peace Officer Espinoza. pic.twitter.com/FNOEV7DRkY
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) April 10, 2020
Harris had been in office for just four months when Hill murdered Espinoza with an AK-47 rifle. Her decision not to seek the death penalty, part of her broader “smart-on-crime” policies, left the Espinoza family shattered.
“She just went ahead and announced it. She seemed more focused on fulfilling a campaign promise as opposed to showing compassion, reaching out to family, and really being on the side of justice,” Mendez added.
Widow Renata Espinoza expressed her grief and opposition to Harris in a 2019 interview with CNN. Harris was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president at the time.
“I don’t understand why she went on camera to say that without talking to the family,” Renata said. “It’s like, you can’t even wait till he’s buried? I felt like she had just taken something from us.”
She added, “She had just taken justice from us. From Isaac. She was only thinking of herself. I couldn’t understand why. I was in disbelief that she had gone on and already made her decision to not seek the death penalty for my husband.”
Harris’s opposition to the death penalty continued to haunt her political career. During her 2010 bid for California attorney general, Republican candidate Steve Cooley questioned her fitness for office, citing her refusal to seek the death penalty in egregious cases, such as Espinoza’s murder.
He recalled his 2010 criticism in an interview with the Mail earlier this week. “I think she’s wholly unqualified and that her election could be the worst thing that happens in my lifetime to our nation,” he said.
