Ex-spokesperson files lawsuit against Alameda County DA Price
(KRON) — Less than 24 hours after Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price held a news conference and lectured reporters about the importance of the First Amendment, Price was hit with a lawsuit accusing her office of violating the First Amendment.
The lawsuit, released publicly on Wednesday, was filed on behalf of former KTVU reporter Patricia “Patti” Lee. Lee worked as a Public Information Officer for the District Attorney’s Office in 2023 until she was abruptly fired.
The lawsuit claims Lee discovered that the DA’s office was “hiding, deleting, and/or altering records” requested by journalists through the California Public Records Act. Days after Lee raised concerns, she was unceremoniously fired as PIO in December, attorneys said.
“I had to speak out,” Lee said. “I have been a serious and dedicated journalist for more than two decades. I believe in transparency and the public’s right to know. This case is about more than just one individual; it’s about maintaining the integrity and transparency of our public institutions.”
The lawsuit was filed on May 29 by firm Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani. It alleges retaliation, discrimination, and wrongful termination. Price and Alameda County are named as defendants.
KRON4 asked the District Attorney’s Office about the lawsuit on Wednesday. The current PIO for the DA’s Office responded by writing, “The District Attorney’s office cannot comment on litigation on personnel matters.”
Lee’s attorney, Nicholas Roxborough said, “Pamela Price, the top cop at the DA’s office, is attempting to silence her own people for refusing to participate in a cover-up. That Ms. Price often spends more time worrying about her appearance and her image than fighting serious and complex crimes in the Bay Area is astounding.”
First Amendment violation allegations against Price stem from a Nov. 29, 2023 news conference held by the district attorney.
When reporter Emilie Raguso of The Berkeley Scanner showed up to cover it, she was refused entrance and escorted away by DA’s Office employees. Raguso’s experience raised alarms that Price may have a “blacklist” banning certain reporters who printed negative news stories. To find out if the DA’s Office had violated Raguso’s First Amendment rights, multiple media outlets filed CPRA requests.
“Reporters, press freedom groups, and First Amendment organizations were understandably troubled by this cartoonish violation of the First Amendment, content-based restriction of reporting, and the arbitrary exclusion of a reporter,” the lawsuit states.
“Ms. Lee was tasked with responding to CPRA requests that were aimed at uncovering a media list meant to blacklist certain reporters who are critical of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office,” the lawsuit states.
Lee began seeking to obtain information for responding to CPRA requests, in compliance with the law. But instead of producing records, the DA’s Office decided to “hide, delete, and change the records,” the suit claims.
Lee claims that she spoke up and refused to participate in illegally withholding records that the public was entitled to see. On Dec. 12, 2023, she was handed a termination notice and told to clear out her office within eight minutes. No reason for her firing was given, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also accuses Price of anti-Asian sentiment. Lee, who is Asian American, said she witnessed Price make derogatory comments about Asian people. “Ms. Price would constantly and openly make derogatory remarks,” attorneys wrote.
Price allegedly said her enemies are “the media and the Asians,” the lawsuit states.
Lee says she was fired as PIO out of retaliation and discrimination. Conduct in the DA’s Office caused her to suffer humiliation, embarrassment, psychological harm, and emotional harm, attorneys wrote.
Attorney Roxborough said, “Something is very amiss in Alameda County and Ms. Price’s office.”
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