Oakland police officer charged with courtroom perjury, bribery; 125 homicide cases under review
OAKLAND -- A veteran Oakland police officer has been charged with committing perjury and bribery during a 2016 murder trial, forcing prosecutors to review the 125 homicide cases he was involved as an investigator.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Y. Price announced that charges were filed Tuesday against Officer Phong Tran for committing perjury on the stand.
Tran was charged with two felony counts of perjury under oath and for lying under oath during a murder trial in 2016 and at a preliminary hearing in 2014.
He was also been charged with felony subordination of perjury under oath, felony bribery of a witness and felony attempted bribery of a witness.
The two murder convictions in the case were thrown out last year when an eyewitness came forward again, this time to retract.
"Detective Tran admitted that he had previously known a key witness in a murder trial, and had been paying that person with his own money to be a confidential informant," said Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. "The confidential informant later stated that she did not actually witness the murder."
It was just before Christmas in 2011. Charles Butler was shot and killed on his way home from the store, allegedly because he'd accidentally bumped someone's car.
"He hit the driver's side bumper, with no damage." Officer Phong Tran told KPIX in 2012, pleading for witnesses to come forward. Ultimately, one did, claiming to have seen the shooting. The case went to trial in 2016, but then the witness later retracted her story. and said she'd actually known the detective for several months prior to the shooting, taking money as an informant.
"And because of his actions, my office now has to review at least 125 murder cases that Detective Tran investigated to see if we have wrongfully convicted anyone else," Price said Tuesday.
The Northern California Innocence Project has agreed to assist the office with the review of each case to assess the impact of Tran's misconduct.
"The bottom line is this is an effort to get folks who have committed murder out of jail," said Barry Donelan of the Oakland Police Officers' Association. "Ultimately this veteran homicide investigator will be vindicated. He'll be cleared in a court of law. But what this is, the real rationale behind the DA's actions, it's all about ensuring folks who have been convicted of murder are put back onto the street. That's what this is. Planet simple."
District Attorney Price was not available for questions Tuesday, instead releasing a video statement on her office's YouTube page.
"Lying and manipulating a witness are serious violations of the public trust, and Officer Tran will be held accountable," Price said in an accompanying news release. "When the integrity of a conviction is at issue in one case, it raises questions in every other case that officer has investigated. The people of Alameda County need to have confidence in the criminal justice system, and these charges are a step forward toward regaining that trust."
Tran's payments to the witness were not disclosed to the prosecution or defense before or after the 2016 murder trial. The convictions of the two defendants were vacated in 2022, which Price says came as a direct result of Tran's misconduct. Both men spent 10 years behind bars prior to their release.
Tran is also charged with attempted bribery of another witness in the same murder case. The witness refused Tran's requests for "help" in identifying a suspect in exchange for help in her son's criminal case. The witness did not deviate from her original testimony.
Tran's attorney, Andrew M. Ganz, released a statement slamming Price over the charges.
"The DA treats murderers like heroes, looking for every possible excuse to keep them out of jail," said Ganz. "Yet, real heroes such as Oakland Homicide Detective Tran – who has dedicated and risked his life to try to keep the city safe – are treated like criminals. He is being prosecuted for having the audacity to investigate, arrest and bring to justice the killers who terrorize Oakland."
