Rick Perry's Despicable New Ad Exploits Widow, Repeats Demonstrably False Lies

by: Phillip Martin, Progress Texas

Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 09:54 AM CDT

Rick Perry’s latest TV ad is blatantly false in its claim that Bill White supported sanctuary city policies, and is purposefully misleading to suggest that Bill White’s policies led to Officer Johnson’s death. Additionally, Perry's campaign is exploiting a widow whose husband has died -- knowing full well that the reasons her husband died have absolutely nothing to do with any of the claims Perry has made.

Three reasons the ad is a total lie:

1. The exploitation of a grieving widow is obscene, so much so that it could backfire on Perry.
   
   
2. The claim made in the ad that "Bill White supported sanctuary city policies” is demonstrably FALSE. I wrote about why it is false earlier today -- go here to read my post, "Rick Perry Will Threaten Reporters Who Point Out He Is Lying About Sanctuary Cities."
   
   
3. Suggesting Bill White’s policies led to Officer Johnson’s death - FALSE
   
   Juan Quintero is the name of the “undocumented alien” who killed Sgt. Johnson’s husband. He faced two separate incidents prior to his 1999 sexual indecency conviction, though neither of those incidents involved the Houston Police Department. Prior to the shooting, Quintero’s criminal record consisted exclusively of crimes that predate Bill White’s tenure as Mayor:
   
   
   • 8/12/1995: Univ. of Houston/Downtown College PD: Failure to Stop and Give Info & Driving while Intoxicated, Convicted, Class B Misdemeanor. (Source - PDF)
     
     
   • 8/31/1996: Metropolitan Transit Authority PD Houston: Driving While License Suspended, Convicted, Class B Misdemeanor, Transferred to County. (Source - PDF)
     
     
   • 1999: Quintero convicted of a sex crime and forced to register as a sex offender. (Source)
     
   
   When Quintero was convicted of a sex crime, he was deported. He re-entered the country months later, but there is no police record to show he was ever picked up by police until he shot Officer Johnson in 2006.
   
   A story from KPRC-TV in Houston at the time said that Officer Johnson was killed by a gun Quintero had hidden in his pants -- a gun Officer Johnson missed when he patted down Quintero before he placed him in the car.