Progressive Alameda County DA Pamela Price took office in January
A California district attorney reportedly told the family of a murder victim that her office is looking at ways to punish the gang bangers charged in their toddler son’s death without sending them to prison.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who received campaign support from billionaire progressive donor George Soros, made the remarks in an email sent to a community member and obtained by local media.
One-year-old Jasper Wu died in the crossfire of a gang shootout on Interstate 880 in 2021. Of the four suspects, three were charged with murder.
On Thursday, ABC 7 published portions of the email, which reportedly came in response to a query from a supporter of the Wu family and member of Alameda’s Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community who asked for an update on the case.
It was addressed “To the Chinese communities” and stated that “some people don’t know about the basic principles of constitutional law.”
“Our office is currently working on a partnership with the Asian Law Caucus to support AAPI victims of violence in ways that open up broader possibilities for healing and non-carceral forms of accountability,” it read.
In plain English, “non-carceral” means a punishment other than incarceration in jail or prison. The Asian Law Caucus told the outlet that they were “very confused about this.”
Jasper was asleep in a car seat as his parents drove down I-880 on Nov. 6, 2021, when rival San Francisco gang members opened fire on each other from separate cars, according to authorities.
During the alleged shootout, purported “Chopper City” gang members Trevor Green and Ivory Bivins allegedly missed a shot at the vehicle of rival “Eddy Rock” gang members Johnny Jackson and Keison Lee.
A stray bullet tore through the Wu family’s vehicle and fatally struck Jasper, according to authorities.
Lee died a year after the incident in a separate shooting.
Norbert Chu, a former Alameda prosecutor, told ABC 7 that a bid to not seek prison time for the three surviving suspects would be “insulting.”
“If I were Jasper’s parents, I would be highly offended,” he told the outlet. “And I would be very fearful.”
“Pamela Price, like San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin, ran on the vague term social justice, and bringing justice and compassion to the community,” said Lou Barberini, a former San Francisco police officer and Bay Area columnist. “Then when voters see those terms in practice they are alarmed at its true meaning.”
Boudin’s own progressive policies resulted in voters kicking him out of office in a recall election.
According to an interview published last month at University of California, Berkeley, where Price attended law school, the newly elected prosecutor “seeks to reduce gun violence and mass incarceration while rooting out racial, socioeconomic, and gender disparities within the county’s criminal legal system.”
“I’m also committed to ensuring that victims and their families are informed about potential changes that may affect a case,” she told the interviewer. “Although they may not always agree with the decisions we make, we want to keep them informed and explain the reasoning for such decisions.”
A spokesperson for the Wu family questioned Price’s remarks on the suspected killers.
“There are almost no consequences due to no threat of severe punishments,” they told ABC 7. “How would that restore public’s faith in the justice system? How would the public feel safe?”
Fox News Digital’s Bailee Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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