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Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price denied claims in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s news conference last week about the ability of her office to prosecute crime in the county.
Newsom announced on July 11 that his office would rescind its offer to send state prosecutors to the county to assist the District Attorney’s Office caseload, saying Price’s office was uncooperative. In February, Newsom and the state Attorney General’s Office offered Price the use of prosecutors from the California National Guard and the state Department of Justice.
But in a letter to Price’s office on July 10, 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. Those resources will be shifted to the attorney general to take on state-led prosecutions that originate in Alameda County, according to the letter.
“We’ve been disappointed (in the) the lack of engagement with the DA’s office,” Newsom said. “So we’re moving forward, rather than complaining about it, rather than lamenting about it.”
Price addressed Newsom’s statements in her own weekly press conference on July 11, which was livestreamed 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.
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.
The governor pulled no punches when calling out the DA’s accountability for prosecuting cases in his press conference on July 11 — in which he also announced that he will be quadrupling the number of shifts of California Highway Patrol officers in Oakland in an effort to combat crime.
Flanked by CHP officials and the Oakland police chief, Newsom said that he would be increasing the 42 weekly shifts currently manned by CHP in the city fourfold 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% in 2023 over the previous year, along with a rise of 38% in robberies and 43% 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%.
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.
The governor said the attorney general’s office will be picking up some of the prosecutions, saying he wants to “lessen the load” that Price has on her desk and that AG Rob Bonta’s office will take on some of the more complex cases.
Embattled Thao was quick to praise the 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. “This partnership models good government that yields results and I thank the Governor.”
The enhanced CHP operations were set to begin Monday, according to Newsom.
Editor’s note: This story is a compilation of Bay City News Service articles written by Katy St. Clair and Riley Cooke.
