Luis Bracamontes
Luis Enrique Monroy Bracamontes is a convicted murderer who killed police officers in Northern California. On 24 October 2014, Bracamontes opened fire on three Northern California sheriff's deputies, killing two and wounding the third while a civilian was also wounded in the shooting. Bracamontes is a citizen of Mexico and a convicted drug dealer who was in the United States illegally. Bracamontes was sentenced to death in 2018.
Luis Bracamontes | |
---|---|
Born | June 8, 1970 |
Details | |
Victims | Michael Davis and Danny Oliver |
Date | October 24, 2014 |
Target(s) | Police officers in Sacramento |
Killed | 2 |
Injured | 2 |
Bracamontes' case earned attention during the 2018 midterm elections when the Trump administration ran an ad blaming Democrats for the murders by Bracamontes.[1] Cable channels such as Fox News, CNN and NBC stopped airing the ad and Facebook banned it from its platform.[2]
Arrests and deportations
Bracamontes is an illegal immigrant who had been previously deported twice. He was first deported in 1997 after being convicted in Arizona on charges of possessing narcotics for sale. In 1998, he was arrested again on drug charges in Phoenix, but was released "for reasons unknown" by former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio,[3]
Bracamontes was arrested and deported to Mexico again in 2001.[4][5]
Shootings and criminal conviction
Bracamontes was using the name Marcelo Marquez when he, with a female accomplice, shot and killed a sheriff's deputy, Danny Oliver of the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department, in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood of Sacramento, then carjacked several vehicles, shot one driver, then fatally shot another peace officer, Detective Michael Davis of the Placer County Sheriffs Department, when he was located in the Auburn Area, and also seriously wounded Davis’ partner, and was eventually taken into custody after an extensive Manhunt in the area. Det. Davis was killed 26 years to the day in which his father, also a Deputy Sheriff, died in a fatal Helicopter Crash in Riverside County, in Southern California.[4][5][6] After a lengthy courts process of about 4 years, which was highlighted by his repeated outbursts and other actions in the courtroom, Bracamontes was sentenced to death in 2018.[7]
Responses
The shooting came to national attention in debates over the Obama administration's policies on immigration in the fall of 2014.[8] The shootings came to national attention again when President Trump invited Jessica Davis and Susan Oliver, the widows of slain officers Detective Michael Davis and Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver, to attend his first address to a joint session of Congress on 28 February 2017.[6]
Trump administration advertisement
Approximately one week before the 2018 midterm elections, the Trump administration ran an ad that linked Bracamontes to Democrats, accusing Democrats of letting Bracamontes and other dangerous undocumented immigrants into the United States. The ad drew widespread and bipartisan condemnation and was compared to the infamous Willie Horton ad during the 1988 presidential campaign. Republican Senator Jeff Flake said the ad was "a new low in campaigning" and "sickening", Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich said "all Americans should reject this ad and its motives" and Representative Carlos Curbelo condemned the ad as part of a "a divide-and-conquer strategy".[9][10][11] Fact-checkers at PolitiFact, The Washington Post and The Sacramento Bee found that the assertions "Democrats let him (cop killer Luis Bracamontes) into our country" and "Democrats let him stay" were false.[12][13][1] CNN refused to air the ad, describing it as a "racist anti-immigration commercial". NBC and Fox News aired the ad, but later said that they would not air it.[2] Facebook pulled the ad from its platform, saying it violated the community standards.[2]
See also
References
- "Trump's new immigration ad was panned as racist. Turns out it was also based on a falsehood". The Washington Post. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- O'Sullivan, Donie (5 November 2018). "Facebook pulls Trump campaign's racist anti-immigration ad". CNN. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Steinbuch, Yaron (2 November 2018). "Cop-killing immigrant entered US under Republicans' watch, too". New York Post. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Ryan, Harriet (25 October 2014). "Suspect in killing of Northern California deputies was previously deported, authorities say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- "California: Suspect in Killings Was in U.S. Illegally". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Park, Madison (28 February 2017). "Trump's special guests for congressional speech hint at a focus on immigration". CNN. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Stanton, Sam (25 April 2018). "Cop killer Bracamontes gets tossed from court, then gets death penalty". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- Medina, Jennifer (28 October 2014). "U.S. Immigration Laws Face New Scrutiny After Killings". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Rucker, Philip; Sonmez, Felicia (1 November 2018). "Trump ratchets up racially divisive messages in a bid to rally support in the midterms". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- "Trump revives 'Willie Horton' tactic with ad linking illegal immigrant killer to Democrats". The Washington Post. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Darden, Hannah (31 October 2018). "President Trump stirs controversy on Twitter with video of Sacramento cop killer". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Greenberg, Jon; Valverde, Miriam (1 November 2018). "Trump claim about Democrats and cop killer is Pants on Fire". PolitiFact. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- Stanton, Sam (1 November 2018). "Fact check: Trump's claim that Democrats let cop killer stay in U.S. is false". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 5 November 2018.