Last night, the Santa Ana City Council voted 4-3 to reject the nomination of a radical anti-police activist to the city’s Police Oversight Commission. Mayor Amezcua and Councilmembers Phil Bacerra, David Penaloza and Thai Phan voted against appointing Delgado, while Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez and Councilmembers Johnathan Hernandez and Ben Vazquez supported it.
Fernando Delgado is a Marxist and a leader in the “abolish the police” movement in Orange County, and a communications staffer for OCCORD, a progressive political advocacy group. The abolish-the-police movement wants to do precisely that: get rid of the the police, and Mr. Delgado isn’t shy about saying so on social media.
He was nominated by Councilman Hernandez, who shares Delgado’s hostility to law enforcement. Among other duties, the Police Oversight Commission will review complaints of police misconduct and make disciplinary recommendations.
Delgado’s nomination had been delayed after Councilman Phil Bacerra brandished copies of two social media posts continued from last month, in order to give him an opportunity to explain to the council why he posted them.
READ: Will Santa Ana Appoint “Abolish The Police” Activist To Police Oversight Commission?
One was a 1967 photo taken during the Vietnam War of a Communist North Vietnamese militiawomen marching a downed US Air Force pilot at bayonet point. It was originally posted by The.Mirror, a Communist group that celebrates violent revolution to mark International Women’s Day.
Delgado minimized it, admitting he now sees it “may have been insensitive” and “probably should have required more context.”
Huh? Let’s unpack this. Delgado, a Marxist, decides sharing an Instagram reel celebrating Marxist revolutionary violence by women, posted by a Communist group he follows, is an appropriate way to commemorate International Women’s Day.
What context does Delgado think was missing from his decision to share a Communist propaganda photo that was staged for the purpose of humiliating a USAF pilot and undermine morale among Americans at home and fighting in Vietnam? Delgado shared a photo of a female North Vietnamese Communist and her male American prisoner to mark International Women’s Day – given his political beliefs, which one are we supposed to believe he was celebrating?
Here’s another social media post by Delgado:
Delgado writes he has “a very different idea of what needs to happen in order for people to live dignified lives in our society” and cites Karl Marx, Angela Davis, Rosa Luxembourg and Thomas Sankara – four Marxists who believe piling up bodies is the price of achieving a more “just” social order – as the kind of leaders who can take charge of “what needs to happen.”
Delgado told the council his clueless romanticizing of Communist revolutionaries did have anything to do with the Police Oversight Commission. Maybe, maybe not – but what isn’t debatable is Delgado’s self-documented hostility toward police.
Here’s just one example:
“The mission of the police, from the early days as slave patrols to the militarized police forces we have today, has always been “cruelty as a deterrent.” Police will beat you, taze you, shoot you, arrest you and throw you in a torturous jail or prison, or even lynch you like they did #TyreNichols and countless others,” writes Delgado. “This kind of system can’t be reformed; it must be abolished…“
Now, if you’re a Santa Ana police officer coming before the Police Oversight Commission over a misconduct complaint, how much confidence would you have that Commissioner Delgado is going to give you a fair and impartial hearing? Probably between zero and none.
And that’s the point.
Bacerra noted Delgado’s “numerous posts that show” Mr. Delgado’s “opinions that lean very heavily if not right on dismantling police departments.”
“I strongly believe that you would not support what this commission is about, which is to improve – not dismantle – to improve law enforcement operations,” said Bacerra.
Delgado and his nominator, Councilman Hernandez, attempted to flip the narrative and portray Delgado as the victim of “censorship”: and that airing Delgado’s views on policing was “posturing” and “dangerous.” According to them, the problem isn’t Delgado’s anti-police philosophy but that councilmembers were factoring it into their consideration of his nomination.
Councilwoman Jessie Lopez complained Delgado was being “interrogated” and was the target of a “personal vendetta.”
What else are they going to say? Hernandez’ nomination was being hoisted on the petard of Delgado’s digital paper trail, so he and Lopez tried to obscure the issue with rhetorical smokebombs.
Councilmember Thai Phan, who had requested the continuance, said her primary concern as “bias” but with a twist: she is concerned Delgado’s anti-police biases could serve of grounds for overturning Oversight Commission disciplinary actions.
“When I talk about having someone come to the police oversight commission to have a fair shake, my biggest concern is an officer who did do something wrong – hopefully that’s never the case,” said Phan. “And whether it’s bias perceived bias statements, comments, that because of that, they are able to appeal and overturn the decision of this police chief or the city manager.”
There was never really any doubt as to the outcome. Delgado needed five affirmative votes to be appointed, and there weren’t five councilmembers who believed – based on Delgado’s frequently expressed opinions – that he could serve in a fair and unbiased manner.
Hopefully, Councilman Hernandez will learn from this episode and nominate someone for the Police Oversight Commission who is not on the anti-police fringe.
