Kamala Harris - For California Attorney General 2010

D.A. Announces Summit On Witness Program

Bay City News
May 10, 2007

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris announced today that law enforcement and community leaders will hold a citywide summit meeting on June 16 to address the problem of witness intimidation in criminal cases.

"We are standing together to send a clear message to those terrorizing our communities: San Franciscans will not tolerate witness intimidation and we are committed to bringing murderers to justice," Harris said at a late morning news conference.

 Harris made the announcement in the wake of the murder of witness, Terrell Rollins, 22, on May 4 at an auto repair shop in the Bayview district of the city.

 Rollins, who had been warned not to come into the city alone, had agreed to testify for the prosecution in a murder case and was in a witness protection program.

 Harris, surrounded by an array of law enforcement, community and religious leaders, made the announcement on the steps of the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in the Western Addition district.

 The center was the site of another fatal shooting on April 27, when Dante White, 22, was killed as he played basketball.

 The summit will be held at Saint Mary's Cathedral in the city at 11 a.m. on June 16.

 Harris said the purpose is for law enforcement officials, community members and religious leaders to discuss how to support witnesses and build trust between law enforcement and the community.

 "We have to start somewhere and we are coming together for the first time," Harris said. "We all want the violence to stop and the killings to stop."

 Other officials who joined the news conference to support the summit included Sheriff Michael Hennessey, Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Bevan Dufty, two police commissioners, a representative of Mayor Gavin Newsom and four local ministers.

 Hennessey said, "Law enforcement cannot do its job without the assistance of citizens."

 Police Commissioner Joe Marshall, who is also director of the Omega Boys Club in the city, said, "I just want all of us to be as heroic as Terrell Rollins was.

 "We've got to do everything we can to say, 'Yes, Terrell, you did the right thing,'" Marshall said.

 When asked whether Rollins' murder resulted from deficiencies in the witness program or a failure to follow procedures, Harris answered, "He absolutely was a hero. This young man did not deserve to die. He was assassinated by cowards."

 But Harris also said, "The cardinal rule of the witness protection program is that you follow the guidelines, which include staying away from the dangerous place."

 Harris said she has increased the number of investigators in her office assigned to the witness protection program from seven to 14 and is seeking funding for seven more to make a total of 21.

 She said that funding for lodging for witnesses in the program is provided by the state, but her office is responsible for providing related services such as transportation.

Source: KGO 7

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