OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – The carousel of Oakland police chiefs continues: the Oakland Police Department has lost its seventh chief following the alleged cover-up of an officer's misconduct.
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The firing threatens to extend two decades of federal oversight — the longest of any police department in the country, which was set to end by June. The department has been under federal oversight since 2003 due to complaints of abuse of power.
"We're going to go work with a police commission and with the police commission hand in glove, we are going to be searching nationwide for our next police chief," Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said during a news conference on Wednesday where she announced her decision to part ways with Armstrong.
Thao said they are looking from a diverse experienced pool of candidates who are committed to reform and have demonstrated the ability to improve community-police relationships.
"I also believe true reform does not stop with accountability only, so we must also work to reform the systems that have failed and that is something my administration will focus on in the coming weeks and months," the Mayor added.
Armstrong released a statement on Wednesday saying, "I am deeply disappointed in the Mayor's decision. After the relevant facts are evaluated by weighing evidence instead of pulling soundbites from strategically inaccurate reports, it will be clear I was a loyal and effective reformer of the Oakland Police Department."
The former police chief is also said to be weighing his legal options.
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