Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price strongly denied claims made by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week about the ability of her office to prosecute crime in the county.
Newsom visited Oakland on Thursday to announce that he will be quadrupling the number of shifts of California Highway Patrol officers in the city in an effort to combat crime.
Flanked by CHP officials and the Oakland police chief, Newsom said that he would be increasing fourfold the 42 weekly shifts currently manned by CHP in the city to 162 shifts over the next several months.
“This is not a permanent operation,” Newsom said. “But over the next four months, we’re committed to keep up the intensity of this operation.”
Over the past year, Oakland stepped up its focus on crime by deploying CHP officers to assist the city’s police force in Operation Safe Streets. The plan focused on proactive enforcement targeting vehicle theft, highway violence, sideshows, carjackings and organized crime.
Oakland has been citing crime statistics that showed a rise in violent crime of 21 percent in 2023 over the previous year, along with a rise of 38 percent in robberies and 43 percent in vehicle thefts. However, since the beginning of this year, both Mayor Sheng Thao and the Police Department have reported a drop in overall crime by 33 percent.
Gloves come off
Newsom is attributing much of this drop to the assistance of the CHP, which he credits with the apprehension of 1,162 stolen cars, 562 arrests and 55 guns recovered that were specifically linked to crimes since February.
But the governor pulled no punches when calling out the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office’s accountability for prosecuting cases.
In February, both Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta offered DA Price the use of prosecutors from the California National Guard and the state Department of Justice to help with the office’s caseloads, which Price said she would accept.
But in a letter to Price’s office Wednesday, the governor’s office said Price did not make use of state resources and did not take initial steps toward finalizing the memorandum of understanding, so those resources will be shifted to the attorney general to take on state-led prosecutions that originate in Alameda County, according to the letter.
At his Thursday news conference, Newsom doubled down.
“Yes, we’ve been disappointed (in the) lack of engagement with the DA’s office,” he said. “So we’re moving forward. Rather than complaining about it, rather than lamenting about it.”
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Newsom said Bonta’s office will be picking up some of the prosecutions to “lessen the load” that Price has on her desk and will also handle some of the more complex cases.
Price addressed Newsom’s statements in her own weekly news conference Thursday, which was live-streamed on the social media platform X.
“I cannot speak to the governor’s disappointment,” Price said. “I’m disappointed that the governor did not reach out to me directly and I’m disappointed that the governor did not acknowledge the efforts that our office is making.”
In particular, Price denied Newsom’s claims about the staffing of the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force. Newsom said the narcotics unit no longer had any personnel because its lead prosecutor, Michael Nieto, had left Price’s office.
Nieto was appointed by Newsom last month to be a judge, but Price said he remains on her staff for the time being and has not indicated a final day of employment.
“The governor is misinformed, apparently,” Price said about Nieto’s employment status.
Sending ‘a disturbing message’
Protect the Win for Public Safety, the campaign opposing the effort to recall Price from office, also decried Newsom’s characterization of the District Attorney’s Office.
“Governor Newsom’s decision to withdraw support and not give the county what it needs jeopardizes public safety and sends a disturbing message that he may not have intended to convey,” the campaign said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Mayor Thao was quick to praise Newsom’s announcement of more CHP shifts in the city.
“After years of rising crime rates, we are seeing a steady decrease — and we know this is in part because of the strong partnership between the Oakland Police Department and the California Highway Patrol,” she said in a statement released by her office Thursday. “This partnership models good government that yields results and I thank the Governor.”
The enhanced CHP operations will begin Monday, according to Newsom.
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