Alameda County DA Pamela Price critics, supporters clash at recall rally
A Pamela Price recall campaign kickoff rally on Saturday morning turned heated and confrontational.
A man who claimed to be a Price supporter got into a physical altercation with a critic of Price. The recall rally took place in front of of the Alameda County Courthouse on Fallon Street in Oakland.
Price opponents were trying to convince people to vote the Alameda County district attorney out of office in November. They recently succeeded in putting the recall on the November ballot.
A group of Price supporters stood across the street to counter-protest. A man who claimed to a Price supporter walked in front of Price opponents and taunted families that lost loved ones to gun violence by screaming "raise your children, raise your children."
A short time later, a man who said he lost a son and a brother in recent years slapped the Price supporter. People quickly stepped in between the two to deescalate the confrontation.
"I'm really upset right now. I just had a Price supporter telling me to raise my child. I wish I could. I wish he was here, so I could raise him," said Angel Santos, mother of homicide victim John Creech Jr.
The man who was slapped later got into a shouting match with another family that also lost loved ones. People had to break up the confrontation.
The incident reflected the deep division in Alameda County about Price. While some believed Price is doing a great job, many families of crime victims believed Price is re-victimizing them by lowering sentences.
"We miss and we love (Eliyanah.) The pain will never go away, we just learn to live with it," said Sophia, who declined to provide her last name.
A gunman shot and killed Sophia's 5-year-old daughter Eliyanah Crisostomo on the freeway while they were driving to a birthday party. Sophia said Price refused to add special circumstance enhancements to the charges for the suspects arrested in the case.
"These criminals are going to get out and then hurt another child. You're gambling with our children's life," said Sophia.
Homicide victim's families say Price is making plea deals that would allow violent criminals to serve less prison time.
"Ten years for somebody killing somebody's kid, that's ridiculous," said Crystle Creech, sister of murder victim John Creech Jr.
"The grief is from the heart. And we need to make decisions about things more from the head. We need to think clearly about what's right. And we can't allow victims to determine what the sentences are. We need to have the whole society come together, the whole community come together and decide what they want. And we wanted more lenient sentences, which is why we elected Pamela Price," said Jennifer Zilliac, a Price supporter and volunteer.
Price won in 2022 with 53 percent of the votes. She ran on reforming the system and prosecuting corrupt cops in Alameda County. Her supporters said she's doing what she promised.
"I know that Pamela Price is fair. And you have to be fair not only to the victim and their family, but also to the person who's (accused of committing) the crime," said Price supporter Cheryl Davila, a former Berkeley councilmember. "I know from being Black in America that Black people are put in jail much more than other people."
While the two sides didn't agree on politics, they agreed they should respect one another. Some Price opponents and supporters shook hands at the end of the rally.