The fact California liberals shrug off robberies was always going to embolden criminals. But that soft-on-crime attitude has just led to another death, made all the more tragic by how predictable it was.
A KRON-TV news crew was reporting on the increasingly common “smash-and-grab” thefts plaguing stores in California’s biggest cities when a group of thugs attempted to steal their camera equipment. Kevin Nishita, a retired police officer and armed guard with the Armed Protection Agency, protected the crew. He was then shot, and he died in the hospital three days later.
This is not the first time California’s tolerance for theft has gotten someone killed. Miguel Penaloza, a Rite-Aid employee in Los Angeles, was shot and killed by shoplifters in July.
This is what California invited by changing theft under $950 from a felony to a misdemeanor and then electing district attorneys who care more about eliminating “mass incarceration” (i.e., keeping criminals out of jail) than they do about holding criminals accountable and protecting the people they are supposed to serve.
Shoplifting turned into organized smash-and-grab robberies. Criminals felt comfortable carrying out robberies in broad daylight, knowing weak district attorneys would go easy on them. The brazen nature of these crimes emboldened criminals to become more and more aggressive. When someone stands in the way, as Penaloza and Nishita did, violence is inevitable.
The fault lies with California liberals who decided to de-emphasize punishment even for unrepentant career criminals because of “equity,” “restorative justice,” and other empty slogans. Cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles are slowly devolving into a Wild West where safety and property are not protected by city authorities.
Some California Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, are beginning to recognize this is not sustainable. But that isn’t enough — cities throughout California have chosen their own fate. San Francisco’s suicide began with the election of soft-on-crime district attorney Chesa Boudin.
Other cities, both in California and throughout the country, should take note that this is what it looks like when Democrats start talking about crime, social justice, and “mass incarceration.”
California city and state leaders must put a foot down now. This kind of lawlessness is unacceptable. It shouldn’t take the deaths of Penaloza and Nishita to make that clear. And if they refuse to address this issue, or drag their feet in doing so, Californians will have to answer the question: Are the feel-good policies they vote for worth the lawless environment they are creating?
