Alameda DA to dismiss case against former San Leandro cop in killing of Steven Taylor

OAKLAND Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson s office formally petitioned a judge this week to dismiss the manslaughter occurrence against the former San Leandro police officer accused of fatally shooting Steven Taylor during an April shoplifting call The request by Jones Dickson s administration which is expected to be argued at a hearing Friday morning marks yet another twist in the development against Jason Fletcher who was charged with manslaughter months after the killing but has yet to face trial amid a rotating cast of district attorneys His matter has since become a rallying cry by advocates pushing for greater accountability among law enforcement officers who use deadly force If granted the dismissal would represent an abrupt end to the first police officer charged in an on-duty killing in Alameda County since BART Officer Johannes Mehserle was tried and convicted in the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant more than years ago Mehserle was revealed guilty of involuntary manslaughter in July by a Los Angeles County jury after the circumstance was moved south In a motion filed Tuesday the district attorney s office argued that Fletcher s circumstance cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt nor that it s entirely clear that Fletcher didn t act out of self defense or the right to defend others inside the San Leandro Walmart where the shooting happened Taylor was fatally shot on April while allegedly trying to steal an aluminum baseball bat and a tent from the Walmart Only about seconds passed between the time Fletcher encountered Taylor and when the fatal shot was fired according to a lawsuit against the city of San Leandro by the slain man s family Alameda County prosecutors had previously argued that Fletcher did not try to de-escalate the confrontation before fatally shooting Taylor once in the chest after using a Taser on him multiple times A judge later called the occurrence a battle of the experts given the vast amount of testimony at an evidentiary hearing from police use-of-force experts Those experts became the subject of a current bid by Fletcher s attorneys largely backed by the work of Jones Dickson s own company to dismiss the matter on the grounds of outrageous administration conduct The officer s attorneys argued that previous prosecutors in the incident each overseen by former District Attorney Pamela Price acted unethically while seeking experts to testify on the prosecution s behalf In ruling from the bench last month Alameda County Judge Thomas Reardon mentioned he uncovered no evidence that those former prosecutors tainted the incident by allegedly hiding evidence from defense attorneys The district attorney s dismissal motion this week again took direct aim at Price s administration claiming that her strategy was nothing more than a desperate de-evolution into violations of both ethics and the law around these experts The effort made to conceal expert opinions from the defense in violation of Supreme Court circumstance law that requires transparency of this type of evidence only created more hurdles to the prosecution of Fletcher the motion added The motion appears to have been authored by Darby Williams a relative newcomer to Jones Dickson s staff who previously spent time as a prosecutor in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties as well as a masses defender in Los Angeles according to her LinkedIn account The site shows her having joined the Alameda County District Attorney s Office in July The request by Jones Dickson s club continues a trend by the former Alameda County prosecutor and judge who has worked to unwind the legacy of Price who voters recalled last year That includes dismissing numerous cases filed by Price s administration including several against law enforcement officers related to the deaths of inmates at Santa Rita Jail Price has since informed a campaign to once again seek electoral process as the county s district attorney roughly a year after voters removed her from office by a nearly -to- margin So far Price and Jones Dickson are the only people known to be vying for the post The wave of dismissals had led to fears by Taylor s family that Fletcher s incident could be next Reached Wednesday morning Taylor s grandmother Addie Kitchen slammed the decision I m shocked commented Kitchen noting how the request to end the incident came not from Fletcher s attorneys but from Jones Dickson s office How do you think it feels Five and a half years the biggest slap in the face by the district attorney Check back for updates to this advancing story Jakob Rodgers is a senior current news reporter Call text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at - - or email him at jrodgers bayareanewsgroup com