Henry for DA
I am the retired Santa Rosa City Attorney. For 24 years, I successfully defended police officers in alleged misconduct lawsuits, including shooting cases. I have trained hundreds of officers on use of force. I have the utmost respect for the sacrifices and importance of the work done by the police.
My wife, our daughter, and I live in Vallejo. Our grandchildren and their parents live in Benicia. My sister lives in Fairfield. We love Solano County.
I have worked with many district attorneys and have closely studied the records of the two candidates, Sharon Henry and Ms. Abrams, for Solano County District Attorney. I also listened to a debate between the two candidates.
On two key issues, judgment and fairness, the evidence is overwhelming. Sharon Henry is the superior candidate. I urge you to vote for Sharon Henry, a 34-year veteran trial lawyer, who has effectively prosecuted every type of case imaginable and has served as a senior administrator in the Solano County District Attorney's Office.
Based on the George Floyd case and other incidents captured on body cameras and cell phones, we have entered a new era. We know that police officers sometimes make mistakes. In rare cases, officers commit crimes. This year a jury convicted an on-duty Danville police officer of a violent felony — assault with a firearm. The judge sentenced the officer to six years in prison.
In this new period, a district attorney must be fair and independent in all cases — there must be no appearance of bias, especially in cases where the actions of a police officer are under review.
In this environment of heightened scrutiny and suspicion, would a fair and independent district attorney, charged with responsibility for reviewing police use of force and shootings, accept endorsements from police unions, as Ms. Abrams has?
Accepting endorsements from virtually every law enforcement union in Solano County and campaigning based on those endorsements is wrong, given the right that each family has to a full and impartial review after a police tragedy.
A district attorney can protest that an endorsement would never influence their evaluation of a case. Yet, the district attorney has never filed criminal charges against an officer in a shooting or onduty use of force to my knowledge. Can anyone provide an example where a police union urged that a member be prosecuted for an on-duty crime? Let's be clear. There is a difference between police unions and individual police officers.
Why is the district attorney minimizing the badge tipbending by Vallejo officers while flaunting, through campaign ads, her special relationship with police unions?
At the debate that I listened to Ms. Abrams dismissed badge tip-bending as much ado about nothing. Is badge tip-bending something that she feels in fairness should be disclosed to defense attorneys in cases where an officer who bent his or her badge tip was involved in use of force or fired his or her weapon? For her, it doesn't seem like a big deal.
Ms. Henry has dedicated her career to our safety and law enforcement. Unlike her opponent, she will be fair and impartial in reviewing the rare potential cases involving law enforcement. That's what we all deserve in all cases. For Sharon Henry, justice demands that the appearance of bias be avoided.
All families are entitled to equal justice under the law. That includes the families of police officers and the families of people the police kill or injure.
Ms. Henry will fight for equal justice for all. She has earned my vote.
— Brien Farrell/Santa Rosa
City Attorney, Retired