Mayor fires Oakland’s Black police chief for misconduct
Despite her admiration and respect for Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao stated that she is "no longer confident" in his ability to "do the work needed to achieve the vision."
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has fired the city’s Black police chief, a move that comes about a month after she and the city administrator put LeRonne Armstrong on leave amid an investigation that found he mishandled two officer misconduct cases.
In the most recent setback for a department suffering from violent crime, personnel issues, and the failure to execute court-ordered reforms, Armstrong was fired “without cause” on Wednesday, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. That designation allows him to receive severance pay.
“In order to finally bring an end to Oakland’s federal oversight and not risk the investments we’ve made for over 20 years,” Thao said in a statement, according to The Chronicle, “it’s an absolute requirement that my administration, including the Chief of Police, be able to work closely with the monitoring team and speak credibly before the court.”
The mayor claimed Armstrong made comments that “troubled” her, including publicly stating that the officers in the misconduct instances did not act improperly and that he did not think the episodes were indicative of systemic issues.
Despite her admiration and respect for Armstrong, the mayor stated, she is “no longer confident” in his ability to “do the work needed to achieve the vision.”
A San Francisco law firm report examining the two incidents alleged that Oakland Police Sgt. Michael Chung and Officer Kayla Brandwood were involved in a hit-and-run in 2021. Records show Chung collided with a parked car in 2021 but neglected to report the collision. Brandwood, his passenger, also failed to report the event.
A year later, Chung discharged his weapon in an elevator at police headquarters but didn’t report it immediately, disposing of the evidence by throwing it from the Bay Bridge and waiting instead on an internal probe.
The law firm deduced that OPD’s Internal Affairs Division mishandled the sergeant’s discipline and fostered an environment that let the officer engage in additional misconduct. Additionally, it was concluded that Armstrong broke departmental guidelines because he didn’t analyze the evidence from the two occurrences before closing the investigations.
Thao declared Wednesday that she and Oakland’s Police Commission would work together to conduct an extensive nationwide search for Armstrong’s replacement.
The 24-year police veteran hired Sam Singer, a crisis consultant and attorney, after being placed on leave. Singer said Armstrong received his letter of termination through email about 15 minutes before the news conference Wednesday announcing Thao’s decision to “separate” him from city duties.
Armstrong maintained his innocence and expressed his profound disappointment at the mayor’s choice.
“After the relevant facts are fully evaluated by weighing evidence instead of pulling sound bites from strategically leaked, inaccurate reports,” he said, “it will be clear I was a loyal and effective reformer of the Oakland Police Department.”
Armstrong assured it would be equally clear he is not guilty of misconduct, The Chronicle reported. “…And my termination is fundamentally wrong, unjustified and unfair,” he said.
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