The attacker had
8 prior arrests.
The DA declined the felony.
Bay Area Rapid Transit documented a surge in violent crime through 2022–2024. BART reported more than 1,300 violent crimes in 2022 alone. In one documented case, a woman was punched unconscious on a BART train — her attacker had 8 or more prior arrests — and Alameda County DA Pamela Price (D) declined to file felony charges. Price was recalled 55-47 in November 2024, becoming the second California DA removed by voters in the modern era. The BART crime failure was one documented chapter of the case against her.
People stopped riding. The system kept bleeding.
Bay Area Rapid Transit publishes quarterly crime statistics — the numbers are public record. In 2022, BART documented more than 1,300 violent crimes on the system. Robberies, assaults, and weapon-related incidents climbed across major stations, including Oakland, Civic Center, Powell, and 16th Street Mission. Ridership — already suppressed by pandemic-era behavioral changes — stagnated further as riders cited safety as the primary reason they were not returning.
BART’s ridership decline has direct economic consequences. BART is funded in part by fare revenue. When ridership falls, service is cut, which reduces ridership further. The Bay Area’s transit-dependent workers — concentrated in lower-income communities in Oakland, Richmond, and Fremont — bear the cost of that cycle. The business districts around downtown San Francisco and Oakland stations lose foot traffic. The system is run by a board whose members are all Democratic elected officials or appointees from Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and San Francisco.
- →BART Board of Directors — elected from Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and San Francisco; all Democratic-aligned representatives during this period
- →BART Police Department — reports to the Board; subject to Board policies on use of force and arresting officer guidelines
- →Alameda County DA Pamela Price (D) — covers eastern Alameda County BART corridor including Oakland stations; handles felony prosecutions from BART arrests made in her jurisdiction
- →San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins (D, appointed 2022) — covers SF BART stations; also inherited Chesa Boudin's office and has worked to reverse some policies
- →Governor Gavin Newsom (D) — signed AB 109 prison realignment and other laws that affect how Bay Area courts handle repeat offenders
Eight prior arrests. Still on the train.
In November 2022, a woman riding BART was punched and knocked unconscious by an attacker. The attacker was identified and arrested. Court records showed he had eight or more prior arrests. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s office declined to file felony charges.
The case was not unusual in isolation. It was representative of a pattern that the East Bay Times investigation and the recall campaign documented methodically: repeat offenders with documented criminal histories whose cases were declined or downgraded by Price’s office, who were then free to continue offending. The BART case made the pattern concrete for transit riders in a way that abstract statistics do not.
“The problem on BART is not just that crime is happening — it's that the same people are doing it over and over again because there are no consequences.”
BART Riders' Union — 2023 · documented in East Bay Times coverage
Two years. Crime up, DA declines, voters act.
Every office. Every official. One party.
Elected November 2022. Took office January 2023. Declined felony charges against repeat BART attacker. Systematically downgraded charges in violent cases. Recalled November 5, 2024, 55-47. Second California DA recalled in modern era. Replaced by Governor Newsom appointee.
Signed AB 109 prison realignment (2011, originally under Gov. Brown) enforcement and has backed criminal justice reform measures affecting Bay Area prosecution. Appointed Price's interim replacement after the recall. Also signed into law policies that critics argue reduced consequences for repeat property and transit crime.
Oakland — the largest city in the Alameda County BART corridor — has experienced persistent violent crime. The mayor has limited direct authority over BART Police or DA charging decisions but operates within the same Democratic governing coalition responsible for Bay Area public safety policy.
The BART Board sets policing policy, oversees BART Police, and controls the transit system budget. All members are elected from Democratic-leaning Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco districts. Board policies on use of force, officer staffing levels, and fare enforcement directly affect safety outcomes.
Two years of documented failure. One November ballot.
The recall campaign against Pamela Price was not organized by Republican operatives. It was led by crime victims’ families, community advocates, and residents of Alameda County — including from the same Oakland and East Bay communities Price claimed to represent. The BART attacks were part of the documented case, alongside specific homicide downgrades, sexual assault enhancement removals, and the departure of experienced prosecutors from her office.
On November 5, 2024, Alameda County voted 55-45 to recall Price. She became the second California DA removed by voters in the modern era, two years after San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin was recalled 55-45 for similar reasons. The pattern is not ambiguous: progressive DAs elected with outside funding, systematic charge reductions, documented consequences, community organizing, voters correcting.