By Craig W. Floyd
The past 10 days have been one nightmare after another for law enforcement. Four officers were shot and killed in three separate incidents.
Late on the night of February 21, Virginia Beach (Va.) Police Officers Cameron Girvin, 25, and Christopher Reese, 30, were fatally shot during a traffic stop. Less than 24 hours later, West York Borough (Pa.) Police Officer Andrew Duarte was killed in a mass shooting at a hospital. And, on February 23, in Hinds County (Miss.), Deputy Martin Shields Jr. was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call.
A judge’s decision that defies justice
As officers across the nation were mourning their fallen colleagues, a Texas judge rubbed salt into their very painful wounds. She allowed a man accused of killing a Harris County (Texas) deputy to be released from jail after posting bond. The murder suspect, Dremone Francis, is charged along with his co-defendant, Ronnie Palmer, of firing dozens of shots into the undercover vehicle occupied by Deputy Fernando Esqueda. The brutal ambush occurred last July. Deputy Esqueda died of multiple gunshot wounds. He was assassinated, plain and simple.
Capital murder is the only crime in Texas that allows a judge the discretion to deny bond. It appears that no accused cop killer in Harris County has been released on bond in at least the last 20 years — and maybe ever. But despite prosecutors’ request for a no-bond hold on Francis, Judge Hilary Unger, who has a history of going easy on criminals, set bond at $1 million, which Francis posted and was released.
To make matters even worse, the day after Francis walked out of jail, Unger thumbed her nose at local law enforcement once again and set bond for his co-defendant and fellow accused cop killer, Ronnie Palmer, at $3 million. While the bond amount is higher, the fact remains that since Palmer’s arrest last July he has been behind bars and not eligible for bond and release — until now.
Law enforcement leaders sound the alarm
Police union leaders in Harris County are justifiably outraged at Unger’s decision. The Houston Police Officers’ Union called the judge’s decision “indefensible.”
“This is not an isolated case,” the union stated. “Judge Unger has a history of prioritizing criminals over victims, undermining law enforcement, and making our streets more dangerous. If we don’t stop judges like her now, we will continue to see repeat offenders and violent criminals emboldened by a system that refuses to hold them accountable.”
The rising danger of leniency for violent criminals
There is good reason for the union’s concern. Since 2021, there have been 162 homicides committed in Harris County by suspects awaiting trial and out on bond for some other crime.
It should be noted that the union’s concern has been longstanding and not just a reaction to this latest example of pro-criminal injustice. A year ago, their executive director, Ray Hunt, issued a chilling statement: “I have never in my lifetime — and I’m a lifelong Houstonian — seen this many suspected murderers and capital murderers who are walking the streets of Houston out on multiple bonds. I would not let my wife or my kids walk down the streets of Houston at midnight under any circumstances. It is not safe in major cities in 2024, and it’s not safe here.”
This release of a cop killer on bond in Texas is not the only troubling sign when it comes to holding those who assault and kill our police officers accountable. Before President Biden left office in January, he granted clemency and sentence commutations to the men who killed four law enforcement officers. It was similarly concerning when, in January, President Trump issued a “complete and unconditional pardon” for the individuals who have been convicted of, or charged with attacking and assaulting police officers at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
This is not a partisan issue. People who assault or kill a police officer need to be held fully accountable for their actions and serve their full sentences. Anything less is a slap in the face to the men and women in law enforcement and puts their lives at greater risk.
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History shows what real accountability looks like
The murder of Deputy Esqueda brings to mind another brutal assassination of a New York City police officer in 1988. That officer’s name is Edward Byrne. He was sitting in his patrol car guarding the witness in a drug case. Around 3:30 a.m., a car drove up. Two men got out and shot Eddie in the head five times. Like Deputy Esqueda, Eddie Byrne never had a chance.
The difference, though, is that there was no leniency for the murderers of Eddie Byrne. There was only outrage. A drug kingpin had ordered the hit on Eddie as a symbolic message that the criminals, not the police, were ruling the city. But the politicians and the citizens of New York City — and the nation — heard a different message. They rightly viewed it as an act of total disrespect for the rule of law and for those who enforce those laws. The killers received the harshest possible sentences. And none of them were released on bail; that would have resulted in a citizen revolt. Instead, Eddie Byrne’s death galvanized the city and the nation, and was the turning point in the war against drugs.
Eddie Byrne’s case gives us a sliver of hope. Maybe the brutal murder of Fernando Esqueda and the shocking leniency shown to his killers will spark the same outrage from politicians and the citizenry that we saw in New York City nearly 40 years ago. Maybe the politicians and the citizens of Houston will realize that going easy on cop killers places public safety and officer safety at greater risk. Maybe voters will wake up and show the door to pro-criminal judges like Hilary Unger in the next election. Maybe.
Legislation that could turn the tide
It is encouraging to note that legislation has been introduced in Congress that aims to reduce attacks on police. The “Thin Blue Line Act” (S. 83/H.R. 378) would enhance penalties for those who target, kill or attempt to kill a public safety official. It would help to undo the harm caused by acts of leniency toward cop killers and assaulters by making it clear that those who attack our police officers will be held accountable and punished to the full extent of the law. We must let our officers know that we stand behind them and let criminals know that violence against police will not be tolerated.
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About the author
Craig W. Floyd is the Founding CEO of Citizens Behind the Badge, a national nonprofit organization supporting law enforcement.