Joe Henderson
Think of the most hard-bitten, growling, lock-‘em-up State Attorney you know. Spoiler alert: It isn’t Hillsborough’s Andrew Warren.
A Monday decision not to file charges against a bevy of peaceful protesters sets up what will likely be a campaign beef between Warren and his law-and-order opponent.
In nearly four years on the job, he has consistently shown moderation in this law-and-order era. In too many places, it seems every accusation must be met with the full force of the legal system.
And Warren, who unseated long-time State Attorney Mark Ober in 2016, just did it again.
On Monday, he dropped charges of unlawful assembly against 67 protesters arrested June 2. They demonstrated in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis, but Warren said they did nothing wrong.
A release from his office said there was no violence, vandalism, or attacks on police officers by those arrested.
“I’ve said many times that criminal justice reform involves looking at each case as a problem to solve, not just a person to be punished,” Warren said.
“In these unlawful assembly cases, there is no value in filing charges. Prosecuting people for exercising their First Amendment rights creates problems rather than solving them. It can weaken the bonds between law enforcement and the community while undermining faith in our system.”
Their arrest records also will be expunged.
But, he said, if you’re exercising more than the First Amendment, look out.
“I want to make one thing clear: while we have no intention of prosecuting anyone who is peacefully protesting, we will not tolerate people looking to exploit this moment,” Warren said. “There is no place for violence or destruction that puts the safety of our citizens—including our law enforcement officers—at risk.”
This is a good time to mention that Warren, a Democrat, faces opposition from Republican Mike Perotti, who is a law-and-order guy. Perotti is a former colonel in charge of the jail system for the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office. He is the current legal counsel for that department.
In a Facebook post June 3 on his campaign page, Perotti weighed in on the violent protests that rocked the North Tampa area that night. He criticized Warren’s “misguided but well-intended policies” as part of the problem.
“The bottom line is, many of these individuals should not have been out on the streets to begin with, and this, like the alarming rise in violence throughout our black and brown communities, is a direct result of my opponent’s misguided, if well-intended, policies,” he wrote.
“Under-policing and absolving accountability for dangerous crimes is just as damaging to communities as over-policing. By allowing these bad actors to operate in the community with impunity, Mr. Warren has permitted them to undermine the legitimacy of the protesters. Since taking office, he has failed to curtail the continuous loss of life in our most vulnerable communities.”
That leaves us with this.
The election is five months away in a year that already has over-stayed its welcome. The odds are pretty good that more situations like this will occur. This race is a contrast in two different styles of enforcement. What happened Monday may be a preview of coming attractions.
