Oakland police chief: Conduct report ‘defies common sense’
Surrounded on Sunday by supporters at his church, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said a confidential report that was part of evidence leading to his forced paid administrative leave “blatantly misstates and mischaracterizes” what he told investigators. He said it “relies heavily on vague, subjective impressions” that lack factual support.
Armstrong insisted anew that his forced leave was unfair. It came less than two years into his tenure, after reports that he mishandled two officer misconduct cases.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao put Armstrong on leave late last month after an independent report indicated the chief violated department rules by closing two recent misconduct cases before reviewing key evidence.
That report, which was made public, also raised concerns that the embattled department would not be able to exit its mandated federal court oversight program after nearly two decades — a setback that could cost taxpayers millions.
Armstrong said he reviewed a second, confidential report Wednesday that the independent investigators had used to bolster their findings.
“The report relies heavily on vague, subjective impressions without any factual or evidentiary support, which is completely improper for this kind of report,” he said.
Armstrong has repeatedly insisted he did nothing wrong, but has provided no evidence backing his contentions. At a news conference after Sunday services at Oakland’s Acts Full Gospel Church of God in Christ, the chief called for the release of evidence he said would “clearly establish my innocence.”
“The fact that I’m in this position is embarrassing, not just to me, but to all the people that support me,” said Armstrong, dressed in civilian clothing and surrounded by members of his congregation and the local chapter of the NAACP.
Armstrong said the confidential report he recently reviewed dealt with a car accident investigation involving an Oakland officer — but that he could not discuss specifics because it remained confidential. However, he said the report “blatantly misstates and mischaracterizes key statements during my recorded interview, which everyone will be able to confirm when the underlying materials are released.”
He said the report’s logic and narrative about him “defies common sense.”
Thao, who previously has told The Chronicle she thought Armstrong was doing a good job, has not yet made a decision about his future in the department. Her office declined to comment Sunday.
Oakland has churned through nearly a dozen police chiefs since the department came under federal oversight in 2000 because of a class-action lawsuit after the Riders scandal. It involved six West Oakland men who argued they were falsely arrested on drug charges and framed by four officers known as the Riders.
Until last month, the Police Department appeared on the brink of being able to exit the resulting federal oversight process, which mandated costly reforms intended to change the city’s policing culture. But that potentially major milestone was upended when Thao abruptly placed Armstrong on leave amid alleged “systemic deficiencies” in his department’s handling of internal investigations.
Armstrong said Sunday he has not spoken with the mayor or the assigned federal monitor since first demanding reinstatement after she put him on paid leave.
Independent investigators concluded that Armstrong mishandled two cases involving a police sergeant who collided with a parked car in 2021 and failed to report the crash. That same sergeant later fired his gun in an elevator at police headquarters, failed to report it and got rid of evidence by throwing it off the Bay Bridge.
The San Francisco law firm that investigated the two misconduct cases determined that the Police Department failed to properly discipline the sergeant and found that Armstrong closed the investigations before reviewing crucial evidence.
Armstrong, a West Oakland native, said his abrupt removal had hurt police relations with communities around the city.