Oakland’s newly elected mayor has positioned Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong on administrative go away following a blistering outdoors report that discovered the division mishandled circumstances of officer misconduct.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Metropolis Administrator Ed Reiskin introduced the change in management Thursday evening.
“The choice was not taken calmly, however we consider that it’s important for the protection of our neighborhood that we construct belief and confidence between the Division and the general public,” the 2 metropolis leaders stated in an announcement. “We will need to have transparency and accountability to maneuver ahead as a safer and stronger Oakland.”
The report delivered Wednesday by regulation agency Clarence Dyer & Cohen LLP, which town of Oakland had employed final yr to analyze alleged misconduct and the Oakland Police Division’s response, highlighted two circumstances. The primary concerned an incident in 2021 through which a sergeant crashed his car into one other automotive and drove away. He didn’t report the incident. The second was a 2022 case through which the identical sergeant fired his gun inside a freight elevator at a police constructing. Once more, nobody reported the incident.
The skin legal professionals discovered that the division didn’t appropriately self-discipline the sergeant and that Armstrong didn’t successfully assessment proof from the 2 incidents earlier than ending the investigations.
“The a number of failures, at each degree, to carry this sergeant accountable, belie OPD’s said place that it may possibly police itself and maintain its members accountable for misconduct,” the report said.
The division has been underneath federal oversight for 20 years within the wake of a police corruption scandal within the early 2000s. The federal choose overseeing the case positioned the division on one-year probation interval final spring, signaling an finish to the oversight may be close to.
Each the mayor and metropolis administrator framed the choice to put Armstrong on go away as a part of their effort to “enhance our programs for accountability and transparency” as required by the settlement settlement.
“We’ve got to carry officers accountable once they violate the general public belief,” they stated.
Armstrong was appointed chief by former Mayor Libby Schaaf in February 2021 to interchange Anne Kirkpatrick, who was fired in a transfer that led to a jury discovering final yr that she was wrongfully terminated for whistleblowing. Assistant Chief Darren Allison will now function performing chief, in line with town officers.
