Alameda County District Attorney’s Office Files Complaint Against Former Prosecutor
In September 2020, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley charged Defendant San Leandro Police Officer Jason Fletcher with voluntary manslaughter for the unlawful killing of Steven Taylor. Mr. Taylor’s death in the San Leandro Walmart was a traumatic and tragic event for our entire community.
Yesterday, the Steven Taylor case took another significant turn when the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed a misdemeanor complaint against former Alameda County District Attorney prosecutor, Amilcar “Butch” Ford, based on his unlawful and unethical interference with the case. On or about April 26, 2023, former ADA Ford provided confidential work product information to Defendant Fletcher’s attorney and authored a declaration of support of Defendant on a case he worked on while he was still an employee of the DA’s office. Ford’s unprecedented behavior violated Business and Professions Code Section 6131(b) and carries the additional serious consequence of mandatory disbarment. Prior to filing the complaint, our Office engaged in a thorough consultation with the California Department of Justice, which confirmed that there are no conflicts preventing our office from prosecuting this case and that the DOJ will not be handling the matter. We have, in an abundance of caution, established an ethical wall removing Senior Assistant District Attorney Kwixuan Maloof from the handling of the case solely to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
While we recognize the public’s interest in this unusual case, as prosecutors, we understand the importance of ethical rules that restrict what we can publicly disclose about pending cases. However, we wish to reiterate our dedication to conducting ourselves with integrity and fairness throughout this process. We will not involve ourselves in, nor respond to, any personal or political attacks.
We are committed to ensuring a fair, speedy, and public resolution of both the prosecution of Defendant Fletcher and Defendant Ford while upholding the principles of equal justice under the law for all residents.
## Contact: Public Information Officer Patti Lee, patti.lee@acgov.org // 628-249-1288
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The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward
-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.