OAKLAND (KCBS RADIO) – Oakland’s Police Chief has been placed on paid administrative leave after the city reviewed the results of a report on his conduct.
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New Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao made the decision this week much to the surprise of the city's rank and file.
Thao has said the decision was not an easy one, but she hopes that it will help the department move towards better transparency and accountability.
The report, made by an independent law firm, found that Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong apparently disregarded two reports of one officer's repeated misconduct.
"A sergeant who hit another car in a police car in a garage," said KCBS Radio Insider Phil Matier Friday morning. "Maybe took the person's bumper off, didn’t report it."
"And then another time he shot a round off in the elevator of the police department, didn't report that," he said.
While those incidents are troubling on their own, even more concerning is the lack of action taken by Armstrong.
"This report was very scathing," said Matier. "The deficits appear to stem from a failure of leadership and a lack of commitment to hold members of the Oakland Police Department accountable for violations of its own rules."
"This botched investigation or look the other way, or whatever it might have been – is being held up as an example of that," he said.
In the meantime Assistant Police Chief Darren Allison is filling in, but the move has frustrated some.
"The optics are terrible but it doesn't diminish the professionalism of the individual police officers that will go out today, take 911 calls, investigate crime, and serve the citizens as best they can," said Oakland Police Officers' Association President Barry Donelan.
"The question mark is what's the short, medium and long term plan from the administration to fill the void that's been created here," he said. "And are you going to tell us? Or do we wait for the media to tell us what's the next step?"
This development could mean an extension of the longstanding federal oversight of the Oakland Police Department which was scheduled to end in May.
The department has been under scrutiny for more than 20 years now over past issues with misconduct.
And Armstrong isn't the only chief to fall short of expectations, few Oakland Police Chiefs seem to last more than a couple of years at the post.
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