Grieving Parents Blast California's Soft Drunk Driving Laws After Tragic Crashes

LAPD union condemns 'soft on crime' policies as state grapples with soaring DUI rates and lax sentencing.

Published on Feb. 16, 2026

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As California's deadly drunk driving problem has exploded in recent years, the Los Angeles police union is now placing the blame on socialist politicians for slashing resources and soft-on-crime policies. Grieving parents like Jennifer Levi and Allison Lyman are also stepping up to push lawmakers to crack down on the state's lax drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter laws, which they say are putting lives at risk.

Why it matters

California is home to six of the country's 10 worst cities for DUIs, with soaring rates of drunk driving incidents and fatalities. Victims' families argue that the state's criminal justice reforms have gone too far, allowing repeat offenders to face little jail time and quickly return to the roads, endangering public safety.

The details

After three LAPD officers were hospitalized during a suspected DUI pursuit, the police union condemned LA politicians like Councilmember Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez for cutting police resources and weakening DUI enforcement. Jennifer Levi's 18-year-old son Braun was killed by a suspected drunk driver, while Allison Lyman's 23-year-old son Connor was killed by a distracted driver. Both families are fighting to reform laws that allow vehicular manslaughter offenders to receive lenient sentences or diversion programs.

  • In May, Braun Levi was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver.
  • Last summer, Connor Lopez was killed in Elk Grove by a distracted driver.
  • Over the weekend, a California woman who killed a 21-year-old cyclist in her fourth distracted-driving crash was set to be released early on Valentine's Day for good behavior.

The players

Jennifer Levi

The mother of Braun Levi, an 18-year-old tennis player who was killed by a suspected drunk driver in May.

Allison Lyman

The mother of Connor Lopez, a 23-year-old pianist who was killed by a distracted driver in April.

Bob Archuleta

A Democratic state senator whose eldest granddaughter was killed by a drunk driver in 2024. He has introduced a bill to strengthen California's DUI laws.

Nithya Raman

A Los Angeles city councilmember who has been criticized by the LAPD union for voting to cut police resources and weaken DUI enforcement.

Eunisses Hernandez

A Los Angeles city councilmember who has also been criticized by the LAPD union for voting to cut police resources and weaken DUI enforcement.

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What they’re saying

“Driving while intoxicated is not a victimless crime and when Los Angeles politicians such as Councilmember Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez repeatedly vote to cut police officers, stop enforcing DUI laws and end most other traffic enforcement, in the name of criminal justice reform, it only makes our streets less safe for every Angeleno.”

— Board of Directors, Los Angeles Police Protective League (The California Post)

“The safety of our roads is deteriorating to a point where everyday it feels like there's a death from a drunk driver.”

— Jennifer Levi (The California Post)

“What shocks me the most is how little time they serve in jail for killing somebody. Right now, you are drunk and you injure someone, you will most likely spend more time in jail than if you kill somebody, because it's called an accident. Braun's death certificate says accident. That was not an accident.”

— Jennifer Levi (The California Post)

“We think it's to empty the jails, that's been kind of the consensus as we've spoken about it — is there was a big soft on crime push, and they didn't want to pay to put people in jail.”

— Allison Lyman (The California Post)

“It's like the moment you find out about it, you start living that nightmare. It hasn't even happened yet and you know, we've been told brace for it.”

— Allison Lyman (The California Post)

What’s next

Senator Bob Archuleta's bill, Senate Bill 907, aims to strengthen California's DUI enforcement and sentencing laws, including adding gross vehicular manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to the violent felony list and mandating 'Braun's Law' to increase penalties for repeat offenders.

The takeaway

This tragic series of crashes highlights the urgent need for California to reform its criminal justice policies around drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter. Grieving families are demanding tougher laws and enforcement to protect public safety and hold offenders accountable, rather than allowing repeat offenders to quickly return to the roads.