. The charges against James Fisher, Cameron Leahy and Eric McKinley were announced Thursday by Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. The charges were filed just before the statute of limitations were to expire and marked a reversal of a decision by a previous district attorney who cleared the officers of wrongdoing. Mario Gonzalez, 26, died in the city of Alameda on April 19, 2021. McKinley, Fisher and Leahy were all Alameda police officers at the time.
Defense attorneys denounced the charges as politically motivated, noting that an effort to oust Price has gathered enough signatures to force a recall election this year. Fisher’s attorney, Michael Rains, said the charges are a “desperate effort to shore up her chances of remaining in office,” Bay Area News Group reported.