One immediate positive outcome of the protests around the jail expansion is that our activism put the final nail in the coffin for corrupt Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson.  The San Francisco Chronicle pointed to the anger of protestors  as part of what made his resignation "inevitable."  The Chron reported that in "exchange for his resignation and his no-contest plea to one count of perjury for making false statements on state campaign disclosure forms, state prosecutors dropped the other 12 charges."  The judge sentenced him to 250 hours of community service and three years of probation -- a light sentence for someone who caused so much harm in our community.  We are a year and a half away from the next District Attorney election; in the meantime the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors will appoint a successor.  Progressive organizations have called for a transparent appointment process and recommended that none of the announced candidates for the 2018 election be considered for appointment.  The Supervisors have committed to hold a public forum to discuss the process, which is tentatively scheduled for August 15th.

During his term, DA Peterson refused to prosecute a Richmond police officer in the death of Richard “Pedie” Perez III, who was intoxicated and unarmed when he was shot three times by a police officer in Richmond.  His family continues to organize in Pedie's memory, pushing for greater accountability for police who use force under questionable circumstances.  Specifically they are organizing in favor of a bill that would require an independent investigation of any situation where a police officer kills or seriously harms a person.