A security guard for the San Jose mayor was recently assaulted at a downtown news event, and law enforcement leaders weren’t exactly shocked.
“It’s not surprising to me at all that happened, because it’s happening to so many people on a daily basis, all over California, especially in our urban areas,” Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig told The Epoch Times.
According to police, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan was being interviewed by a local reporter on April 23 in the city’s downtown area when a man nearby began shouting profanities and approaching him. The mayor’s guard asked the man to step back, and the man then punched the guard in the face multiple times, a police spokesperson confirmed in an email to The Epoch Times.
Bystanders assisted the lone guard, a San Jose police officer assigned to the mayor, and they eventually restrained the assailant until more officers arrived. The guard spent the night in a hospital and was released the next day, a statement from police said.
Police arrested 35-year-old Wesley Pollard, who was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for multiple crimes, including felony battery on a police officer. He also had a warrant for his arrest from Georgia for resisting arrest with violence, police said.
In a statement sent to The Epoch Times by Mr. Mahan’s office, the mayor said the officer’s actions were a testament to the de-escalation training they receive and that he was lucky to have the protection.
“The mayor understands how privileged he is to have an armed officer protecting him at all times, and is resolved in his commitment to create a safer city for everyone,” spokesperson Tasha Dean said in the statement.
Following news of the attack, Mr. Reisig posted on social media platform X that the state’s weak laws have caused violent people who are sometimes seriously addicted or mentally ill to infiltrate urban cores, leaving residents vulnerable to attacks.
“Many friends and family who live and work in the urban core of our big cities no longer feel safe even walking to lunch. Some have been violently assaulted or threatened. Others just can’t stand the oppressive smell anymore,” he said in a post.
Mr. Reisig said the root cause is the 2014 passage of Proposition 47, which decriminalized the use of hard drugs and repeat theft of more than $950, lowering such crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and stripping law enforcement of tools to keep communities safe.
“Prior to Prop. 47, people who were out publicly using drugs would be arrested and compelled into some drug treatment. That’s no longer an option,” the district attorney told The Epoch Times.
He said people hooked on drugs in California can feed their addiction through crime and are protected under the law.
Since Prop. 47 passed, homelessness has increased by 51 percent in the state while decreasing 11 percent in the nation, according to Mr. Reisig, citing counts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Since its passage, retail theft, nonviolent crime, and drug use have been treated as misdemeanor citations. Most people don’t show up for court dates and are issued warrants, but many of those go unserved as police departments are understaffed and must prioritize felonies, Mr. Reisig said.
In Sacramento, portions of which are in Yolo County, there are more than 30,000 unserved arrest warrants for those who didn’t show up to court, he said.
“My conversations with many of [the police] is, morale is very low, a lot of police officers are retiring early or they’re just leaving the profession,” he said.
More than 900,000 signatures have been collected to support a ballot initiative that would amend Prop. 47.
The Californians for Safer Communities Coalition—which consists of several law enforcement groups, justice and victim advocacy groups, veterans, taxpayer organizations, and more—spearheaded the signature gathering and has submitted them to qualify for the November ballot, as announced in a recent press release. The District Attorney’s Association is a coalition member.
The signatures will be validated by the California secretary of state. A total of 546,651 must qualify, according to the coalition.
Known as the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, the ballot initiative would revise Prop. 47 to increase penalties for repeat offenders of theft and certain drug crimes while incentivizing those arrested for the latter to complete drug treatment programs.
Mayor Mahan supports the act.
“We cannot be afraid to challenge the status quo when it is clearly not working for our residents,” he said in an April 18 coalition statement.
“We need reform that doesn’t take us back to the era of mass incarceration but allows judges to mandate treatment for those struggling with severe addiction.”
