Ex-Texas chief will become top cop
Mayor announces former Lubbock leader Floyd Mitchell will take over beleaguered department this spring
OAKLAND >> Mayor Sheng Thao ended a yearlong search for Oakland's new police chief Friday by tapping a veteran lawman from Texas whose most recent job was plagued by complaints about his handling of a troubled 911 system.
The mayor named Floyd Mitchell — a police officer of more than 30 years who most recently served as a chief in Lubbock, Texas — as Oakland's top cop, a post that has been filled by eight other people on a permanent, interim or acting basis in the last decade.
His appointment to one of the city's highestprofile vacancies comes amid continued public concern about crime and safety — leaving Mitchell little time to get settled into a department that has spent two decades under federal oversight and has struggled with the very problem that proved a challenge to him in Texas.
The city did not announce a specific start date for Mitchell, saying only that he'd begin leading the department sometime between late April and early May. A news conference will be held next week to introduce Mitchell to the public, officials said.
“What stood out to me with Floyd is that he's a strong leader, not just with crime-fighting but someone who could deliver results,” Thao said in a Friday afternoon interview.
Mitchell, 56, won out over three other candidates who were announced in late February, including two from elsewhere in the country and another in San Leandro.
In a statement accompanying Thao's announcement, Mitchell expressed excitement at the “unique opportunity” awaiting him in Oakland.
“Our duty is to promote safety, prevent crime, and pursue justice for all we serve by collaborating and communicating with our community,” Mitchell's statement said. “As Oakland's police chief I look forward to working together with our residents, businesses owners, city leadership, and
members of the police commission to build a stronger and safer Oakland.”
The Oakland Police Officers' Association welcomed Mitchell in a statement that expressed optimism for “a promising future.” In doing so, the police union lauded interim Chief Darren Allison, who held the position for 14 months “with unwavering dedication and commitment.”
“We are pleased that the uncertainty regarding the Oakland Chief of Police position has been resolved,” said Sgt. Huy Nguyen, the union's president. “Oakland's diligent Police Officers eagerly anticipate collaborating with Chief Mitchell in serving our community.”
The appointment of Mitchell ends an arduous, often rocky process to fill a position left vacant when Thao fired previous police Chief LeRonne Armstrong in early 2023.
Thao initially placed Armstrong on leave in January 2023 after a report that found “systemic deficiencies” in how his department investigated misconduct cases. She fired him nearly a month later, citing his public statements downplaying the actions of a police sergeant whose misconduct led to a series of coverups by higher-ranking officers. Armstrong also publicly criticized the mayor and OPD's federal monitor, Robert Warshaw.
Throughout the following year, Armstrong continued to figure heavily into discussions about who would next lead the department. The Oakland Police Commission included him on its initial three-person list of recommended candidates in late 2023 — a slate that Thao flatly rejected in late December.
Armstrong has since filed a lawsuit against the city and Thao, alleging he was wrongfully terminated over the cover-up scandal. Friday, he issued a statement wishing Mitchell well and offered “any assistance he may desire.”
“I want everyone to be safe and will do everything in my power, now as a private citizen, to assist in that goal,” Armstrong's statement said.
In a statement, the Oakland Police Commission said it looked forward to partnering with Mitchell “to achieve the constitutional policing and reforms required to ensure fairness and justice for all residents of Oakland.”
An AIr Force veteran, Mitchell first spent 25 years with the police department in Kansas City, Missouri, where he rose through the ranks to become police chief. After retiring from there, he went on to serve as police chief in two Texas cities: Temple and Lubbock.
He left that post last September with a $50,000 settlement amid scrutiny of his handling of emergency dispatcher staffing, according to news outlet KCBD. Yearly unanswered 911 calls spiked under Mitchell's watch while the number of 911 dispatcher positions fell, the station reported.
Ahead of his resignation, local news website Everything Lubbock detailed how Mitchell tried to prevent the release of records that revealed how the faulty 911 dispatch system delayed first responders during an active-shooter training held by the city's police department.
In emails obtained by the outlet, Mitchell said that he did not believe that “90% of the information” outlining those limitations was “relevant” to the training exercise and advocated against releasing the records to the public.
Oakland has had its own struggles with 911 response, garnering warnings from the state, though city officials said earlier this year that more than a dozen previous dispatcher vacancies had been reduced to just four openings.
Under Mitchell's watch, Lubbock saw a spike in violence that similarly was felt across the nation in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, having a record 41 crimes investigated as homicides, up from 20 the year before. The city reported 31 homicides in 2021 and 34 in 2022, per police department data.