2004 Criminal Case Could Haunt Kamala Harris – Didn’t Seek The Death Penalty For Murdered Cop

When Kamala Harris was running for San Francisco district attorney, one of the promises was to never seek the death penalty. But soon after, a case emerged that tested her resolve – and drew outrage from an anguished family as well condemnation from former Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein.

On April 10th, 2004 San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza, 31, was asked to come in for an overtime shift Saturday before Easter. The following morning, plainclothes Officer Espinoza was scheduled to be at Easter services with his wife Renata and their 3-year-old daughter.

That would change tragically for Espinoza during his night shift. In the Bayview District, he and his partner had seen a man they believed was hiding a gun. When he spotted Hill, Espinoza approached the man who then turned and opened fire with a AK-47 rifle when Espinoza identified himself as an officer.

“I had just talked to Isaac maybe about 30 to 40 minutes before,” Renata told CNN. “He had told me to stay up because he was coming home.”

Another police officer then drove Renata to the hospital, while telling her not to worry too much because “it was only a scare” and assured that Isaac was “fine” but alive. But when she arrived, silent police officers handed her Espinoza’s badge with a trembling hand of the captain.

Espinoza was the first San Francisco police officer shot and killed in a line-of-duty killing since at least 1993. 

Harris responded shortly after saying, “In San Francisco, it is the will, I believe, of a majority of people that the most severe crimes be met with the most severe consequences,” Harris said at that news conference. “And that life without the possibility of parole is a severe consequence.”

Many criticized Harris for not pursuing the death penalty, including Espinoza’s wife.

“She did not call me,” Renata told the outlet. “I don’t understand why she went on camera to say that without talking to the family. 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.”