After Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao fired the city’s chief of police in 2023 and rejected a list of candidates recommended last month by the city’s police commission, a replacement to lead the Police Department is now delayed until at least March, according to a commission timeline.
Commissioners agreed to recruit candidates in January, evaluate applicants in February, and send a list of names to the mayor March 1 “to allow for an equitable and substantive process,” the statement reads.
With rising crime impacting the city and some residents demanding action from leaders, the commission will be limiting access regarding the search while observing a media blackout throughout the process.
Such is done to protect the identity of applicants currently employed in other positions, according to the commission.
“We are committed to finding the best candidate for Oakland,” Ms. Peterson said. “The hiring decision remains the mayor’s.”
Some critics said the wait for a new police chief is unacceptable.
“Another 60 days delay is a total failure,” one person posted on X in response to the commission’s statement.
The new timeline will leave Oakland without a police chief for more than a year after the mayor fired LeRonne Armstrong in February 2023. The chief was dismissed following the release of a report that suggested he failed to act when a fellow officer was accused of misconduct.
Mr. Armstrong has argued his firing was without merit and points to a September report authored by retired judge Maria Rivera, formerly with the First Circuit Court of Appeals, that he says clears his name.
Now employed by a mediation service company, ADR Services, Ms. Rivera was tasked with hearing the case between Mr. Armstrong and the city—as state law requires a neutral opinion. In a 55-page report, she found that the former chief should not have been fired and urged the two parties to come together to find a solution that could include reinstatement.
The former chief was on the list of candidates rejected by Ms. Thao in December.
“It is unfair that I am unable to continue to serve and protect the people of Oakland,” Mr. Armstrong said in a statement released after his name was rejected. “As a native of Oakland, nothing gave me greater pleasure and pride than to work in my community and fight to improve it.”
Others on the list reportedly included Kevin Hall, the assistant police chief in Tuscon, Arizona, and Abdul Pridgen, on leave—while authorities investigate potential policy misdoings, according to a statement released by the city with no further details provided—since September as the San Leandro chief of police.
Acknowledging the importance of finding a new police chief, the mayor said she is requesting a new list to better evaluate potential candidates.
“The Oakland Police Chief leads a critical component of the mayor’s comprehensive community safety strategy,” a statement released Dec. 27 by Ms. Thao’s office said. “Mayor Thao thanks the Oakland Police Commission for their continued service and looks forward to working with the commissioners to select the best possible candidate for Oakland.”
The mayor and police commission have struggled to come to terms over the last year, with Ms. Thao threatening to choose her own candidate if the panel cannot identify suitable applicants.
Assistant Chief Darren Allison—25 years with the department—is serving as interim police chief until a replacement is identified.
Meanwhile, crime in Oakland has skyrocketed—auto break-ins and assaults have doubled and carjackings have tripled since 2019, according to FBI statistics.
Such criminal activity resulted in community leaders asking officials last summer to declare a citywide state of emergency.
“Oakland residents are sick and tired of our intolerable public safety crisis that overwhelmingly impacts minority communities,” the Oakland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, better known as the NAACP, said in a July 2023 letter to elected officials. “We call on all elected leaders to unite and declare a state of emergency and bring together massive resources to address our public safety crisis.”
