Words of wisdom for Oakland’s new top cop

Before uttering his first words at his introductory news conference on Wednesday, Oakland’s newly named police chief, Floyd Mitchell, was greeted with a standing ovation in City Hall.

The warm welcome spoke to just how desperate Oaklanders have been for a police chief after going more than a year without one while crime in the city hit alarming highs.

Mitchell, 56, has about 30 years of law enforcement experience, including nearly 10 years as a police chief in the Texas cities of Lubbock and Temple, where he is credited with reducing crime in both.

“My approach is high visibility, responsible, proactive policing that is procedurally just, datadriven and grounded in evidence-based strategies to address our most difficult issues,” Mitchell said during his introduction.

This is promising rhetoric from a chief who has inherited a department with a checkered past in a city with myriad socioeconomic challenges. The road ahead is daunting, but Mitchell has a chance to make a real difference in the lives of Oaklanders if he takes the right approach. Here are some important tips to help him handle the pressure of being Oakland’s top cop.

Oakland politics are messy; find the right allies

Mitchell made it clear that he has a long way to go in learning about the Oakland community, but plans to spend his first 100 days doing just that.

He should be wary of some Oakland moderates — individuals and organizations — who will rush to get face time with him and act like they care about the city and the police force. But in reality, they only back policies that exacerbate inequality and benefit the city’s wealthiest residents at the expense of its poorest. Far too many vocal members of community organizations like Neighbors Together Oakland and legacy activist groups like the Oakland NAACP are embracing an outdated perspective on public safety, and Mitchell must recognize this and find folks who share his more progressive vision to bring the city together.

Don’t hide from criticism

Mitchell needs to be ready for direct, sometimes scathing, criticism in Oakland, which has a long history of tension between residents and police. The Riders scandal from 20 years ago, which involved West Oakland cops beating and planting drugs on people, is still fresh in much of the community’s mind. In more recent years, OPD has struggled with racial bias shaping its policing outcomes. Oaklanders have a right to be skeptical of OPD decision-making, and Mitchell has to be open to feedback and ready to address concerns coming from local residents. By embracing

criticism and responding to it, Mitchell can show he’s truly committed to creating a police force the community can trust.

Seek out the input from Oakland’s youth

Mitchell should listen to what young people and youth-led anti-violence organizations in Oakland have to say about public safety. Since young folks are disproportionately affected by crime and violence in Oakland, both as victims and offenders, their perspectives are invaluable to dialogues about reducing crime and fixing Alameda County’s broken criminal justice system. And they know crime is often a symptom of larger socioeconomic issues faced by the city.

Based on 2020 data, half of the juvenile detainees

in Alameda County were from just seven of the county’s 59 ZIP codes. Three of those seven ZIP codes were located in redlined areas (or areas where discriminatory practices barred Black families from becoming homeowners and limited investment in majorityBlack neighborhoods), namely West Oakland and East Oakland. Last year, nine juveniles, including one as young as 12, were arrested in connection with 30 robberies. A lack of economic and educational opportunities are underlying issues that contribute to the crime rates that have plagued Oakland for years, and if Mitchell wants to address them, he’ll need Oakland’s youth to lead the way.

Be transparent; be honest; hold officers accountable

Oakland is a passionate and tightly knit community, yearning to finally have a healthy, trust-based relationship with law enforcement. But it’s hard to put trust in a Police Department that has had more than a dozen police chiefs over the last 20 years, and far too many have seen their time end over scandals related to transparency and police accountability. Mitchell’s predecessor LeRonne Armstrong, as beloved as he was by many Oaklanders, was fired when a probe found he mishandled a pair of officer misconduct cases.

“Not holding officers accountable is one thing in Oakland that is just not tolerated and has cost chiefs in the past, including (Mitchell’s) predecessor,” Brian Hofer, chief executive of the

nonprofit Secure Justice, which advocates for civil liberties and human rights, and chair of the city’s Privacy Advisory Commission, told me recently. “If you don’t come in and set the tone right away, you won’t last long.”

Mitchell must learn from the mistakes of chiefs who came before him by ensuring that under his command, OPD officers are held to the highest standards of behavior and that any misconduct is dealt with quickly and properly. And Mitchell should tell the public the truth when these incidents occur instead of trying to sweep them under the rug as others have tried before him.

Be a voice for violence prevention funding

Mitchell, during his news conference, mentioned multiple times his belief in policing efforts that involve violence prevention work. As Oakland grapples with a staggering $177 million deficit in its two-year budget, and some tough choices are going to have to be made about funding various areas of the city, Mitchell should use his voice to ensure Oakland’s violence prevention programs get the money they need to function — both inside and outside of the Police Department.

Get OPD out from under federal oversight, then stay out

To Mitchell’s credit, during his news conference he said getting OPD from under federal oversight would be among his top priorities.

“I am going to sit down with the monitor

and identify specifically what we need to do and how we need to do it to get to the end of this road,” he said. “It’s important for the healing of this community for (OPD) to say we can police ourselves.”

As promising as this talk is, Mitchell also needs to think about what happens down the road. Even after federal oversight stops, OPD will still have to show that it’s committed and able to police itself. To do this, Mitchell should fully support Mayor Sheng Thao’s plan to move the department’s internal affairs unit to the Police Commission’s investigative arm to weed out misconduct and hold officers accountable for their actions. Supporting Thao’s plan will help instill a culture of integrity within OPD and build an environment where officers are confident in reporting misconduct without fear of retribution, which is essential to eradicating the remnants of the department’s troubled past.

Lead by example

Mitchell must be visible and accessible to both OPD officers and the community. He should show compassion and empathy in his interactions with the public, and encourage his officers to do the same.

Being the head of OPD comes with immense power, responsibilities and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But with the right strategy, Mitchell can make Oakland safer and finally give residents a police department they can trust.

Brontë Wittpenn/The Chronicle Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell, who has about 30 years in law enforcement, said at his introductory news conference on Wednesday that his approach is “high visibility, responsible, proactive policing.”