Peeping Toms! Guns Fired Downtown! Rocks through Living Room Windows!
Alarmism fomented by the San Marcos Police Officers Association outright ignores the Disqualifying Circumstances provision of the Cite & Release ordinance, just like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
In what former SMPD Chief Chase Stapp described as "fairly exhaustive" and the city attorney called "pretty comprehensive," the ordinance outlines numerous Disqualifying Circumstances that let officers use their discretion to arrest, instead of cite, in certain situations.
For all the fears-mongering hypotheticals peddled by our dishonest police association, if a Peeping Tom, or Rock Thrower, or Gun Shooter is deemed to "imminently endanger" the safety of themselves or others, then SMPD can arrest, instead of cite – that's literally how the ordinance works.
But even if a local resident accused of committing a low-level crime — say for slashing a tire, or graffiti, or petty shoplifting — gets locked in a cage prior to their day in court, before they've been found guilty by a judge: how does their pretrial incarceration unslash that tire, whitewash a wall or repay the shop owner?
It doesn't. It only delays the time required to offer restitution, especially if that person loses their job, or their vehicle to a tow yard, as a result of the unnecessary jailing.
Our mass-incarceration habit in this nation must end; in the words of councilmember Melissa Derrick, a veritable paradigm shift is afoot, and San Marcos can pioneer a more humane way forward by embracing the Cite & Release ordinance.
Karen Muñoz
San Marcos
