Alameda County DA Pamela Price’s second-in-command resigns

OAKLAND — Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s top lieutenant, who was one of the first people she hired to help reshape the East Bay’s justice system, has resigned from her office, Price announced Tuesday.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Otis Bruce Jr.’s last day will be July 13. In an internal email to staff, Price praised Bruce for having “worked tirelessly” to help her settle into the job as Alameda County’s top prosecutor.

Price confirmed his departure at a press conference Tuesday, where she also announced the creation of two new divisions within her office, along with progress on a sprawling review into whether prosecutors who worked for previous administrations intentionally kept Black and Jewish people off juries in death penalty cases.

Bruce’s resignation comes nearly a year and a half into a tenure that was rocked last year with allegations that he fostered a toxic workplace and sexually harassed colleagues at his previous post at the Marin County District Attorney’s Office.

While working as the second-highest-ranking prosecutor there, Bruce was accused by at least eight deputy district attorneys of routinely manipulating and intimidating other prosecutors — often young women — while allegedly showing gender bias and making inappropriate and disparaging remarks.

He was placed on administrative leave in September 2022, and remained there until his retirement from the office at the end of December 2022, days before he began working for Price.

A subsequent report in early 2023 found that Bruce violated 17 personnel regulations over the span of several years. The results of the inquiry — led by an outside firm hired by Marin County — became public in July 2023, when the Marin Independent Journal obtained copies of the report.

Price went on to defend Bruce, calling the 55-page document into his alleged misconduct “false,” and criticizing Marin officials for seeking to “impeach his character and publicly humiliate this dedicated public servant.”

At a press conference Tuesday, Price lauded Bruce while framing his resignation as “a great opportunity for others who have been long time prosecutors in this office to prosper.” Her internal email went on to praise him as a “tremendous” asset who was a vital member of her “transition team.”

“We had a great experience with him,” Price said. “The impact on the office is such that it will continue to grow.”

Bruce’s departure was first reported by The Berkeley Scanner. In the wake of Bruce’s departure, prosecutor Evanthia Pappas will be taking over as head of Price’s prosecution division, the district attorney said Tuesday.

Word of the departure comes just days after Priced announced a reorganization that included creating a division that seeks to address gender-motivated crimes. The Gender Justice Division, which will be led by senior Deputy District Attorney Justin Kollar, will be modeled off of a similar bureau in Brooklyn, New York, the district attorney’s office said.

The bureau will include the office’s anti-slavery, sexual assault and domestic violence prosecution units, as well as the victim witness division and the Family Justice Center.

Price also said that Senior Assistant District Attorney Tiffaney Gibson will lead the Advancing Justice Division and oversee juvenile justice, collaborative courts and the civil rights and consumer justice bureaus.

The reorganization comes as Price said her office was making progress on a review into whether county prosecutors, who predate her tenure, spent decades systemically excluding African American and Jewish jurors in death penalty cases.

The claim, made public in a ruling by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, came after the discovery of prosecutors’ notes in a 1995 death penalty case. In them, a prosecutor described one prospective juror as a “short, fat, troll,” while noting that others were Black or Jewish. The prosecutor also highlighted how one supported affirmative action.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has since embarked on an ambitious review of all 35 death penalty convictions in the county for similar signs of racist or antisemitic behavior.

On Tuesday, Price suggested that the ongoing review had found “a serious pattern of misconduct” involving at least two deputy district attorneys. She said her office is consulting with The State Bar of California on whether to pursue criminal charges against those accused of wrongdoing. She plans to create an ombudsman program to receive complaints of potential prosecutorial misconduct.

A recall effort to boot Price from office has qualified for the November ballot, marking the second time a progressive district attorney has been targeted since 2022. Two years ago, voters in San Francisco ousted District Attorney Chesa Boudin in a nationally-watched contest.