Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has officially announced LeRonne Armstrong as Oakland’s new Chief of Police in a news release Friday.
He will be sworn in during an official ceremony on Monday at 10 a.m.
Armstrong grew up in Oakland and has been with the department for 22 years. He will replace former chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who was let go by the police commission last year.
The group of finalists for the position included Armstrong's wife, Interim Deputy Chief Drennon Lindsey.
Prior to the official announcement of Armstrong's appointment, Barry Donelan, President of the Oakland Police Officer’s Association noted that the new chief would "face multiple major challenges, most notably a steep rise in violence, with 15 homicides last month alone."
He told KCBS Radio on Thursday the department is also dealing with $20 million in budget cuts stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and the departure of officers. "We just had a January with more murders than any January in 20 years, and last year we added more than a hundred murders to the year," said Donelan. "That has to be priority number one.”
Donelan thanked Interim Police Chief Susan Manheimer for her service over the last year in a statement, saying "we are grateful for Chief Manheimer’s service and we look forward to Chief Armstrong’s tenure."
Armstrong will be the 13th chief of the Oakland Police Department since 1993.
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