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Resident criticizes county district attorney for declining drug prosecutions
Summary
During public comment, Ron Kirkish presented a multi-page list of drug-related referrals he said the county district attorney declined to prosecute in 2023 and called on local officials to address prosecutorial decisions he described as harming community safety.
A resident told the Gilroy City Council on Oct. 6 that the Santa Clara County district attorney declined to prosecute numerous drug-related referrals from local police in 2023 and urged local leaders to address what he characterized as a failure to act.
Ron Kirkish said he obtained records from the Gilroy Police Department showing multiple referrals involving drugs that were rejected by the district attorney in 2023. “Our district attorney is not, does not care about drug cases and what drugs do to our community and to the people that abuse them,” Kirkish said. He compared local prosecutorial decisions unfavorably with federal interdiction actions described in news reports.
The remarks were delivered during the public comment period; council members did not respond with a motion or direction and did not indicate staff follow-up during the meeting. The speaker’s statements represent his views and the materials he said he had received from the police department. The council did not announce any official inquiry or action regarding the district attorney’s prosecutorial decisions at the Oct. 6 meeting.
The transcript contains the speaker’s assertions and cited materials but does not include corroborating statements from the district attorney’s office or police beyond the speaker’s claim that he received the records from the Gilroy Police Department. Any verification of the cases or prosecutorial rationale would require follow-up with the county district attorney’s office and the Gilroy Police Department.
