Slain SF cop’s family ‘certainly not’ supporting Kamala Harris for president over her actions as DA in 2004 shooting: report
The family of a San Francisco cop shot dead in 2004 says they won’t support Vice President Kamala Harris after she put politics before justice — adding that Donald Trump is the “better option” for police departments across the US.
Isaac Espinoza, a 29-year-old husband and father, was shot by then-22-year-old gang member David Hill during a traffic stop in the Bayview District of San Francisco the night before Easter.
Harris, just months into her role as district attorney, got on television three days after the killing to announce that she wouldn’t seek the death penalty — before even speaking with the heartbroken family.
“She just went ahead and announced it,” Edgar Mendez, brother of Espinoza’s widow, Renata, told the Daily Mail. “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, 45, who spoke to the outlet with permission from his sister, who was been bombarded with media requests, said their family is “certainly not” supporting Harris in November.
“We are proudly supporting President Trump,” he said. “We believe he’s the better option for us and for police departments locally and throughout the country as well.”
While some say the former president is a “threat” to democracy, Mendez argues Harris ignored democracy in 2004 when she failed to prosecute Hill to the fullest extent of the law, he told the outlet.
Harris had pledged in her campaign for DA to not seek the death penalty and held firm to that when Espinoza was shot, even going against several California Democrats.
Then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein declared at the time that, if she had known Harris would be against the death penalty given the “special circumstances,” she probably wouldn’t have endorsed her for DA in the first place.
Harris’ decision sparked a decade-long feud with police unions.
Gary Delagnes, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, was next to Harris when she made the televised announcement.
“I’m standing there and I’m going, ‘Oh my God,’” he told CNN during Harris’ 2019 presidential campaign. “The kid’s not even in the ground yet. You’re thinking to yourself, OK, is she sorry that this kid died or is this just a political opportunity? Is this just an opportunity for her to double down on the fact she’s not going to pursue the death penalty?”
Espinoza’s widow also told the outlet in 2019 that she couldn’t believe the announcement came before her high school sweetheart was even buried — and before she got a call.
“I felt like she had just taken something from us,” she said. “She had just taken justice from us. From Isaac. She was only thinking of herself … I was in disbelief that she had gone on and already made her decision to not seek the death penalty for my husband.”
