OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- The new Alameda County District Attorney has barely been in office for 100 days. Some are already calling for Pamela Price's resignation.
Many others continue to support the embattled district attorney. There was a rally outside of the Alameda County Courthouse Sunday.
Price says she was anticipating backlash because she planned to make big changes to the way the office handles cases. She still feels like she’s doing the right thing for the community.
More than a hundred people gathered on the stairs of the Alameda County Superior Courthouse steps waving signs in support of Price.
"I stand before you as the first non-appointed, non-anointed district attorney in Alameda County in over 100 years," she said.
Price ran on a platform of criminal justice reform. There were several previously incarcerated individuals who attended the rally.
But Price says she will also stand up for the victims of crime.
Carol Ferguson Jones' son was killed in February 2018. She says she has spent the last 5 years trying to get in touch with the DA's office.
Until recently, no one responded.
"She hadn't even been in office for 45 days and she heard my call. She answered, she texted, she responded. She didn't have to do what she did and she responded. And now I feel a sense that I can move on," Ferguson Jones said.
Price highlighted what her team has done over her first few months in office, including expanding victim services, mental health services, and holding the powerful accountable.
She says that means not just police, but prosecutors in her office as well.
However, Price’s critics say seeking lower sentences, even for violent crimes and removing enhancements from existing charges make the people of Alameda County less safe.
A similar charge was levied against now-recalled San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin.
A comparison Price did not shy away from. A petition to recall price has gathered about 16,000 signatures.
"I am not fearing the backlash that they call a recall because I believe in the engagement and activism of this community," Price said. "In Alameda County, we know what democracy looks like."
A sign that said "Justice 4 Jasper" was held up across the street from the rally. Jasper Wu was almost 2 years old when he was killed in a highway shooting in Oakland.
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His family is concerned that his alleged killers will be let off with too light of a sentence.
Price told KRON4 the reports she is not seeking prison time for the men suspected of killing Jasper are false. The DA has indicated she has no plans to change the way she runs her office.
At the rally, Price also announced she will be launching a gun violence task force in the near future.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/5jeVFna
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