The family of a San Francisco policeman who was shot dead in 2004 have spoken out about Kamala Harris’s role in sparing the killer the death penalty.
Isaac Espinoza, a 29-year old husband and father, was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a 22-year-old gang member, David Hill, in 2004.
Kamala Harris, who had just taken up her role as San Francisco District Attorney, was widely criticized for announcing live on television that she would not seek the death penalty for Hill, having had no prior contact with Mr Espinoza’s grieving family.
“She just went ahead and announced it,” Edgar Mendez, the brother of Espinoza’s widow, Renata, told The Daily Mail.
Kamala Harris announcing that she would not seek the death penalty for David Hill, 2004
San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Contributor
“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 told The Daily Mail that his family would “certainly not” be voting for Harris.
“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.”
In 2004, San Francisco DA Kamala Harris refused to seek capital punishment on gangster David Hill, who k*lled 29-year-old police officer Isaac Espinoza
She announced her decision before Espinoza was even buried. His widow said Kamala never called
This is the real Kamala Harris pic.twitter.com/5JbBtaTRSC
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) July 29, 2024
Harris made opposition to the death penalty central to her campaign for the District Attorney position, but she shocked her powerful supporters and also police unions when she refused to make an allowance in the Espinoza case. Senator Dianna Feinstein, who had supported Harris’s campaign to become DA, said she regretted endorsing Harris.
During Kamala Harris’s failed presidential bid in 2019, Renata Espinoza spoke to CNN and said, “I felt like she had just taken something from us.”
“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.”
