Alameda County DA Pamela Price denounces racist attacks surrounding the Jasper Wu slaying case
OAKLAND -- Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has taken to social media to condemn racist messages targeting her office over the handling of the Jasper Wu fatal freeway shooting case.
In a 2:16-minute video posted on Twitter, Price said she wanted to "clear the record" about foes trying to use her handling of the high-profile case as "a political agenda to divide our diverse community."
The three suspects -- Trevor Green, 22, of Richmond; Ivory Bivins, 24, of Vallejo; and Johnny Jackson, 28, of Richmond -- have been charged with murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the November 6, 2021 freeway shootout.
Wu, a 23-month-old toddler, was fatally struck by a stray bullet as he rode in a third, uninvolved passing vehicle.
Those charges were filed by retiring District Attorney Nancy O'Malley. In her video, Price said her office is still trying to determine what charges to pursue in court. She met with the Wu family this week to update the progress in the case.
"While I can't talk about the details of this case, I want to clear the record," she said. "I assured the parents of Jasper Wu that the men we believe are responsible for his death are charged with very serious and they will be held accountable. We have not made any decisions about what charges to pursue or what not to pursue. We are still reviewing the case."
But delays in the case have led to criticism of Price's handling of it.
"This particular tragedy is being used by people with a political agenda to divide our diverse community," she said. "The kind of racist messages that my office has received and directed at me personally is unprecedented. Our diversity is our strength. Those who claim that race has somehow influenced the prosecution of this case are wrong and they are making a painful situation more painful for the family and our community."
Price also sent out an email that has riled the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association (NAPIPA).
In that email, NAPIPA says Price alleged that "vocal members of the local Chinese community and media" were misinformed and spreading misinformation about Wu's murder. NAPIPA called on Price to apologize.
"We urge District Attorney Price to be transparent with the public, especially crime victims and their families, and to vigorously prosecute violent criminals, including those who commit crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. While it is unclear to whom D.A. Price sent this e-mail or who it intended to address, the salutation is "[t]o the Chinese communities."
But the organization also emphasized it did not know who Price was referring to in her email.
"Again, it is unclear who she was referencing or why," the organization said in its email. "Based on prior statements in the e-mail, she was insinuating that she did not believe the Chinese community was aware of the very basic tenets of the American criminal justice system."
In her video, Price said she's dedicated her life to fighting racism.
"I have dedicated my life to advancing the values of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," she said. "Those values do not include racism. My office is committed to doing our part to administer justice with a vivid understanding of the need to root out racism in our criminal justice system."
