Local prosecutors work closely with law enforcement and make daily decisions about the credibility of police and the legality of their actions. Police union contributions to prosecutors raise conflicts — most strikingly when police officers kill unarmed civilians and prosecutors must decide whether to bring criminal charges against that officer. Prosecutors who accept campaign contributions from law enforcement have records of driving mass incarceration and death row sentencing while failing to hold police officers accountable for killing unarmed civilians, including the killings of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Stephon Clark and Breonna Taylor.
That’s why many prosecutors are pushing for their colleagues to cut financial ties with law enforcement. Several California District Attorneys have signed a letter urging the State Bar of California to ban elected prosecutors and candidates from accepting political or financial support from police unions.