Acquittal revives fierce debate
Killing of Kate Steinle in San Francisco became immigration policy lightning rod
SAN FRANCISCO — A jury’s decision to acquit a Mexican man in the 2015 slaying of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier has reignited the furor of critics who in the two years since have pointed to Steinle’s death as evidence of the need for tougher immigration policies.
President Donald Trump on Friday called the verdict “a travesty of justice” and renewed his push for a wall on the border with Mexico. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions demanded cities like San Francisco scrap immigration policies that limit cooperation with federal deportation efforts.
Here’s a closer look at how the case unfolded and why it got embroiled in the intense national debate about immigration:
The slaying
Steinle, 32, a medical device saleswoman, was shot while walking on a popular waterfront area in the city on the evening of July 1, 2015, with her father and a family friend who were visiting. Her father, Jim Steinle, testified that his daughter collapsed in his arms, saying, “Help me dad.” He rolled her on her side and discovered a bullet hole. She was later declared dead at a hospital.
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was arrested a short time later. He told police he found a gun on the pier wrapped in cloth, and that it fired accidentally when he picked it up. The gun was the service weapon of a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger, who reported it stolen from his car in late June.
The reaction
The shooting immediately sparked criticism of San Francisco’s policy of limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities and led to calls for stronger enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Steinle was shot. Before the shooting, he had finished a federal prison sentence for illegal re-entry to the United States and had been transferred to San Francisco’s jail in March 2015 to face a 20-year-old charge for selling marijuana. The sheriff’s department released him a few days after prosecutors dropped the marijuana charge, despite a request from federal officials to detain him for deportation.
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly referenced the Steinle shooting and vowed to crack down on sanctuary cities. His administration has moved to restrict funding from such cities, but judges have blocked those attempts.
The trial
Garcia Zarate’s attorneys argued that he found a gun wrapped in cloth under a chair on the pier, and it fired accidentally when he picked it up. Their forensic experts testified that the bullet that killed Steinle ricocheted from 15 feet away, something he could not have done intentionally.
Jurors found Garcia Zarate guilty only of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail.