A former Alameda County DA’s Office prosecutor — who now just so happens to work for SF DA Brooke Jenkins — has been ordered to be booked on misdemeanor charges that he improperly leaked confidential information to a defendant.
There are many analogies one can make between the current attempt to recall Alameda County DA Pamela Price and last year’s recall of SF DA Chesa Boudin, which brought on the tenure of new DA Brooke Jenkins. But now there’s a real connection between the two. NBC Bay Area reports that one of Price’s former prosecutors has been ordered to be booked on misdemeanor charges that he illegally leaked information to a defendant. And that former Alameda County prosecutor, vocal Price critic Amilcar “Butch” Ford, now works for San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins.
The investigation in question, wherein Ford is alleged to have leaked the information, is that of the 2020 San Leandro police shooting of 33-year-old Steven Taylor. Ford is accused of leaking confidential information to the attorney of the defendant, San Leandro Police Officer Jason Fletcher. Fletcher faces manslaughter charges brought by previous DA Nancy O’Malley.
“Mr. Ford interfered in the seminal prosecution of a police officer following the shooting death of Steven Taylor at Walmart in San Leandro,” Price’s office said in a Thursday statement. “Mr. Ford’s misconduct potentially makes it more challenging for this office to hold the officer accountable for his actions.”
“We applaud the court’s decision to treat Mr. Ford as it would any other resident and did not give him special treatment,” the statement added.
And there’s more intrigue, as NBC Bay Area’s report contains the remnants of a tweet from the Alameda County DA’s Twitter account, announcing the above-quoted press release. For whatever reason, that tweet is now deleted.
Ford has been described as Price’s “loudest political critic,” and he’s spoken at Recall Price rallies. Price put him on administrative leave shortly after taking office in January, and he quit to take a job in Jenkins’s office.
Ford tells the Chronicle that this misdemeanor charge is an effort to "silence" him, and he says it's because he has spoken out against Price "at every turn" since she took office.
His October attempt to have the charges against him dismissed was unsuccessful, and he’s set to be booked no later than December 20, which is also his next court date. If found guilty, Ford could potentially be disbarred.
Related: Alameda County DA Pamela Price to Host Anti-Recall Campaign Party Thursday [SFist]
Image: Coolcaesar via Wikimedia Commons
