Brooke Jenkins: A San Francisco Treat?

I don’t want to get too excited too soon, but several news stories out of San Francisco could indicate a pendulum swing out of the district attorney’s office with the election of Brooke Jenkins to lead the prosecutor’s office. You may recall the food dish called Rice-A-Roni-the San Francisco Treat commercials. That jingle came to mind when reading about the new DA in San Francisco. She was elected after the disastrous reign of Chesa Boudin, the cop-hater extraordinaire who was swept into the district attorney’s office with the help of George Soros, who funded progressive prosecutor candidates all across the country who campaigned on using the office as a platform for political activism. Boudin then set about creating policies that would go soft on career criminals and instead emphasized the targeting of law enforcement officers for malicious prosecution.

Some background on Jenkins is noteworthy. She was appointed interim district attorney by liberal San Francisco Mayor London Breed in 2022 after former DA Boudin was successfully recalled. There is no doubt in my mind that the ultra-lefty liberal Mayor Breed chose the centrist Democrat Jenkins because he was undoubtedly feeling the heat from constituents about out-of-control crime that might impact his own re-election bid. Reports are that Jenkins campaigned for the recall of Boudin after she herself resigned, citing constant chaos and turmoil internally that led to many other assistant prosecutors leaving the office. She ran on a tough-on-crime platform. That usually won’t get you elected in the city by the Bay, but residents have had a change of heart after the failed progressive polices of Chesa Boudin led to a surge in crime that other large urban areas experienced after electing woke chief prosecutors. Jenkins also claimed that she resigned because her then=boss Boudin’s leniency on criminals was making San Francisco less safe.

Her biography indicates that she has an undergrad degree from the University of California at Berkeley, a radical leftist academic institution going back to the ‘60s. She also holds a law degree from the University of Chicago. That is where the infamous Saul Alinsky, author of the primer Rules For Radicals, a book he dedicated to Lucifer (Satan himself), was a law professor. He was a socialist and is considered to be the architect of the modern radical or progressive leftist movement. Think of how many current lawyers have had their minds poisoned by him. The University of Chicago was also where Barack Obama taught law. That gives you an idea of the kind of lawyers that school produces. That school does not produce law school graduates who seek employment at conservative law firms or end up being a balls-to-the wall prosecutor. That is a red flag for me about Jenkins, but I will hold that in abeyance for now.

Several early moves are encouraging, as she reorganizes the office to her liking, and are hopefully an indication of how she will govern the office. According to the Washington Examiner newspaper, Jenkins is described as a “centrist Democrat”. Personally, I didn’t know those still existed as the Democrat Party has been hijacked by the radical left wing fringe of the party. They have excommunicated the centrist wing of their cabal. Only full-throated socialist progressives are allowed. Another encouraging sign is that Jenkins has applied for a waiver to the city’s sanctuary city designation so she can arrest two people suspected of a violent crime who may have fled the country. Currently, city laws prohibit the prosecutor’s office from working with federal Border Patrol officials or from the Department of Homeland Security. Jenkins in a statement said, “We won’t let dangerous criminals evade prosecution simply by leaving the United States.” She continues, “What we can’t allow in San Francisco are for people to commit heinous crimes like murder and child rape and then just be able to flee our jurisdiction and avoid prosecution.” The crime in question occurred in 2009 for heaven sakes. It was for domestic violence murder and the suspect in that case had warrants out for child sexual abuse. Boudin could have gone after that guy, too, but he let his politics get in the way and override what was in the best interest of residents of San Francisco.

That brings me to several cases involving law enforcement officers that caught my eye. A SFist news reports that Jenkins announced that she will be dropping manslaughter charges against San Francisco Police Officer Chris Samayoa in what is described as the first-ever case filed against an officer for an on-duty homicide. The officer had only been on the street for four days when he fired shots at a suspect during a carjacking incident. Jenkins said of this case that, “It appeared that the case was filed for political reasons and not in the interest of justice. I cannot pursue this case out of political convenience. Given the conflicts that have arisen, the evidentiary problems and the complete lack of good faith surrounding the filing of this matter, we cannot ethically proceed with this prosecution. Therefore, it is our intention to dismiss the charges made.” That is a wow moment. Many prosecutions against law enforcement today are made to achieve the same political ends: anti-police activism. It is refreshing that this DA, in San Francisco no less, has the courage and morals to put her own political interests aside to achieve the interest of fair and impartial justice. Officer Samayoa is not out of the woods yet as the case has been handed over to the State Attorney General for further review. In light of Jenkins’ strong statement against prosecution, it will be difficult for the state of California to proceed. An attorney for the officer called Boudin’s filing of this case as, “nothing short of reckless irresponsible and politically motivated”.

Another decision by Jenkins is also noteworthy as she reshuffles the priorities of her office. She has cut the number of prosecutors and investigators assigned to a police accountability unit from six down to two. She cut the number of investigators in the unit responsible for investigation police abuse from six down to four. This unit was originally created under former DA George Gascón and was continued under her predecessor Boudin.

Critics of the policy shift in the office of San Francisco district attorney claim these moves signal that Brooke Jenkins will look the other way on complaints of officer misconduct. No, it doesn’t. She didn’t completely shut down the unit. What it signals to me is that in an office facing a surge in street violence and limited prosecutors, she is re-prioritizing her efforts to crack down on career criminal thugs raining holy hell on San Franciscans who have had enough of Boudin’s criminal coddling policies. Jenkins answers to them, not the editorial pages of the San Francisco Chronicle and other left-wing news sources. Her constituents will let her know how they feel about it as she is up for re-election this coming November. I’m betting that they will like a return to law and order and a better quality of life.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is former Sheriff of Milwaukee Co, Wisconsin, President of Americas Sheriff LLC, President of Rise Up Wisconsin INC, Board member of the Crime Research Center, author of the book Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America. To learn more visit www.americassheriff.com