Commentary: Assembly candidate questions Frazier’s appreciation for police officers
Editor:
This month brought us Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. On the calendar it’s only one day, the 9th of January. But in the eyes of the families and friends of police officers, it is every day, because they, like nurses, have earned it.
I honor, not only my family members and friends, but all who suit up in blue every day, not knowing, in these trying times, if they will come home to their families that night.
My opponent has previously garnered the endorsement from local Police organizations in both Solano and Contra Costa County. However, In this last legislative session, Assemblyman Frazier and his Democrat allies in the state legislature, passed SB-227, a bill which in essence denies due process to police officers.
“the bill would prohibit a grand jury from inquiring into an offense or misconduct that involves a shooting or use of excessive force by a peace officer, as specified, that led to the death of a person being detained or arrested by the peace officer, unless the offense was declared to the grand jury by one of its members, as described above” TEXT of SB 227
What has happened in this bill is nothing more than “a knee jerk, not in my back yard” reaction to the incident that took place in Ferguson, Missouri. Police officers should be afforded the same due process as the criminals that they protect us against. But, this new law that Frazier voted for has destroyed that.
That bill, SB-227, that Mr. Frazier voted for, is not only a massive slap in the face to police officers everywhere, but wholly unconstitutional as well.
The 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger;…”
Only after a Grand Jury has reviewed evidence of wrongdoing, should an indictment be handed down to the criminal court. This is our process. This is a check against prosecutorial misconduct at the behest of political expediency. The Grand Jury is impaneled to stay malicious prosecution, to ensure that a prosecutor can actually make a case for indictment. Without it, a politically driven prosecutor could indict for anything with no facts to back up their claim simply in the hopes of garnering public support and or notoriety. That’s because indictments are generally front page news, while acquittals get shuffled to the middle.
I would think we should all remember that you are innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately Mr. Frazier, and other Democrats in Sacramento, seem to have discarded this tenet which is not only black letter constitutional law, but also sets us apart from many other nations in the world. And they have discarded it at the expense of our Police Officers.
In short, police officers place their lives on the line every day to both protect and serve the populations they work for. Criminals make the choice to do the nefarious criminal acts they do, that endanger both police officers and themselves. When a police officer is confronted with a criminal who attempts to harm the officer, I will back the police officer 100% of the time. For it is the job of the police to apprehend that alleged criminal, but also to get home to their families every night. And we should not treat our police officers worse under the law than we treat those whom they protect us from.
The symbol of our judicial system is a woman, named Justice. She holds in her hand a balanced scale and she is blindfolded. The blindfold represents objectivity, in that justice is or should be meted out objectively, without fear or favor, regardless of money, wealth, power, identity, race, creed, color or employment. But now if you look at her scale, Mr. Frazier and others in his caucus have added their thumbs to tip the scales out of balance.
Mr. Frazier’s words tend to make it seem like he fully supports our police officers. Unfortunately he has been found lacking, for his deeds do not match his words. His deeds tell a different story entirely.
Unfortunately for all of us this is an old story, a story of a politician that says one thing and does another.
For example, Mr. Frazier has long touted his love for veterans, and has made many speeches to that effect. However, this past November, he announced his Veterans DMV Tax on Veterans Day – causing a hidden tax on any veterans that wish to be identified as such on their state issued Identification Cards. With Law Enforcement Appreciation Day being celebrated this month, I felt a need to highlight, to local law enforcement, what he has done for you while collecting your endorsement at the same time.
I would certainly like to be writing about my own positive change platform, instead of going after Mr. Frazier’s voting record from the last Session of the State Legislature. Highlighting the differences between Jim and myself, the voters of AD-11 need to be made aware of just how disingenuous their legislator is to the betterment of our community.
My goal is to change all that in November.
Dave Miller, Republican candidate for California State Assembly, 11th District