CA officials say SF DA's failure to file criminal charges led to deadly hit-and-run on New Year's Eve
Had the DA done their job, Mr. McAlister would've been in custody and you would not have grieving families," said the president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association.
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The case of a double fatal hit-and-run that happened on New Year's Eve in San Francisco is igniting a firestorm among critics, who say this tragedy could have been prevented.
That's because the suspected driver, Troy McAlister, was out on parole at the time of the crash.
In a live interview with ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim Sunday night, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin addressed the incident.
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Those Boudin was critical of in his interview spoke to Lim Monday and set the record straight.
McAlister has a long rap sheet and has been arrested numerous times in San Francisco since April 10, 2020, when he finished a sentence for robbery.
Boudin has a history of referring cases involving repeat offenders to parole instead of prosecuting.
In Sunday's live interview, Lim asked: "They (the CDCA) provided you all the details to revoke bail but yet you chose to do nothing... why are you blaming the parole office instead of taking direct accountability here?"
"This is not about blaming parole," Boudin responded. "This about recognizing there are numerous law enforcement agencies... and we all have to depend on each other for doing their job properly."
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The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sent ABC7 News a statement saying in part, "None of the parolee's arrests following his 2020 release has yet to result in filings of criminal charges by the District Attorney."
Boudin was critical of Daly City police as well, referencing a Dec. 29 incident when McAlister stole a car belonging to a woman he was on a date with at the Westlake shopping center, which was what he was driving during the New Year's Eve hit-and-run.
"They were aware he was a parolee, they had his address, his phone number and most importantly, they knew he had a firearm in his possession. And instead of trying to arrest him, or notifying the parole officer, they wrote in their report that they intended to wait until Jan. 3, today. By today it's too late."
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Daly City police told Lim their investigation followed all standard practices and procedures, and that the Jan. 3 date Boudin is referring to is actually an expiration date for follow-up.
Sergeant Mario Busalacchi of the Daly City Police Department spoke with Lim about Boudin's comments.
"We went above and beyond what's normally conducted for a vehicle theft report... at such an early phase it's not usual for our investigators or patrol officers to contact parole."
Lim also pressed Boudin during their interview Sunday night about his claims that SFPD failed to communicate with parole on McAlister's prior cases.
"You're blaming police reporting, saying THEY aren't sufficient enough to press charges," said Lim.
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Boudin responded, saying blame wasn't a factor but that "...the fact of the matter is my office cannot prosecute cases until and unless police present us with adequate evidence that a crime was committed."
SFPD would not comment due to the ongoing investigation, but Lim spoke with Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association (SFPOA) union.
"That's an automatic if someone's on parole or on probation. You make a phone call or an email notification to their parole officer," Montoya said, adding that, "Had the DA done their job, Mr. McAlister would've been in custody and you would not have grieving families."
Montoya confirmed SFPD did act in accordance to protocol and released a bombshell, where the SFPOA is calling for an independent oversight panel to investigate the possibility Boudin served as a public defender for McAlister during his 2015 armed robbery case.
Monday afternoon, Boudin announced filing multiple felony charges against McAlister and sent us this statement saying in part, "Daly City police, the San Francisco police, parole and my office all could have done things differently and will review the case to prevent tragedies like this in the future."
Boudin also mentioned plans to visit with the victims' families.
