Oakland leaders back suspending top cop
Members of the Oakland City Council threw their support Friday behind Mayor Sheng Thao’s decision to place Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong on paid administrative leave after a city investigation found the chief mishandled two misconduct cases.
The new mayor made the biggest public decision of her young administration while attending a conference in Washington, where she had to cancel meetings with other mayors to confer with staff, a senior member of the administration told The Chronicle. Thao informed City Council of her decision within eight hours of learning details of the investigation, the administration official said.
Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said in a statement Friday that she’s confident Thao will “ensure the safety of our communities and build trust and confidence between the Oakland Police Department and the public.”
“The foundation of public safety is trust between our government and community, transparency, accountability and meeting the basic needs of our residents,” Bas said.
Thao’s move came hours after the release of a report finding Armstrong had violated department rules when he failed to review evidence from the two cases before closing the investigations.
The cases involved a police sergeant who collided with a parked car in 2021 and failed to report the crash. That same sergeant fired his gun in an elevator at the police headquarters nearly a year later and failed to report it. Instead, the sergeant got rid of the evidence by throwing it off the Bay Bridge.
A captain for the Internal Affairs Division directed an internal affairs investigator to change the write-up on the sergeant’s behavior to minimize the severity of his actions, according to the report. When the investigator presented his findings, which had been altered, to the chief, Armstrong did not review video evidence of the crash or allow for “extensive” discussion on the incidents, according to the report, which was prepared for the city by an independent law firm. The city has not publicly identified the sergeant, the captain or the internal affairs investigator.
Armstrong, who was hired in February 2021, was viewed as a stabilizing force for a department that has had 11 chiefs in the past 21 years and in 2016 went through four chiefs in the span of just nine days.
Now, after less than three weeks on the job, Thao faced a huge decision that could change the direction of Oakland as it continues to grapple with violent crime and escalating public safety concerns. Assistant Chief Darren Allison, a 25-year veteran of the department, was named acting chief.
Whether the decision could lead to firing Armstrong remains to be seen. A senior member of the administration told The Chronicle that placing him on leave wasn’t meant to be punitive but part of the investigative process for an employee accused of violating department rules. The Chronicle is not naming the official in accordance with its policy on anonymous sources.
The Chronicle could not reach Armstrong for comment.
More information is expected out of the probe in the two misconduct cases that could ultimately decide Armstrong’s future. Until that happens, Thao, who prior to taking office had said he was doing a good job as chief, hasn’t decided whether to fire Armstrong, according to a senior administration official.
The mishandling of the cases could be a setback for the department in achieving compliance after 20 years of federal oversight, which was implemented following a 2000 lawsuit in which six men in West Oakland argued they were falsely arrested on drug charges and who accused four officers, known as “the Riders,” of assaulting and conspiring to frame them.
Jim Chanin, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he is planning to ask the judge to extend the department’s probationary period, which was set to end on May 31. He said he still hasn’t decided whether he supports the choice to place Armstrong on administrative leave and needs to see the fuller report that includes interviews from officers present when Armstrong decided not to personally review evidence in the misconduct cases.
“I have to give the chief due process before I come to a decision,” Chanin said.
Bas and Council Member Rebecca Kaplan both said the findings of the report reinforce that internal investigations need to move out of the Police Department and into the Community Police Review Agency, the civilian investigative arm of department.
Newly elected Council Member Janani Ramachandran, who represents the seat that Thao used to hold in the Oakland hills and Laurel District, said while some may see the rapid move as a “sign of instability,” it’s actually making sure that the “institutions we have are accountable to the people.”
Council Member Treva Reid, who represents parts of East Oakland with high crime rates, said the decision won’t affect how the city responds to its constituents. Reid said she’s worked closely with Allison, who has been “deeply involved” and “responsive” to the city’s issues.
“The public wants a response,” Reid said. “The public wants transparency. The public wants to know that when they call, someone is going to be there.”
Some political analysts applauded Thao’s swift actions given the seriousness of the report.
“She promised transparency and a real emphasis on public safety,” said Jim Ross, a political consultant based in Oakland who supported Thao in the election. “This shows that she is going to live up to that promise. It was really decisive leadership.”
“The city is in flux, which happens when you get a new administration. Elections have consequences,” he added.
Ross said residents care more about getting results — addressing violent crime and cleaning up the streets — than the process of achieving those goals.
Still, the decision wasn’t easy, according to the administration official.
On Thursday morning, Thao was attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington and listening to a panel on affordable housing when her cell phone buzzed.
It was her staff. They had reviewed the report published Wednesday by a federal judge who found systemic deficiencies in the Police Department’s handling of internal investigations, including the two cases involving Armstrong.
Within eight hours, the new mayor informed the City Council that she had placed Armstrong on paid administrative leave.
Before that happened, staff scrambled to reschedule her inperson meetings with local elected officials attending the mayors conference.
“I’m sorry; the mayor has an immediate public safety issue,” staff members explained, according to the senior member of the administration.
Thao spoke on the phone with City Administrator Ed Reiskin and City Attorney Barbara Parker to discuss their options.
Thao asked about the roles of the court monitor, judge, city administrator and police commission, trying to understand the responsibilities of each entity, the administration official said. A police chief can be fired by the court monitor, city administrator, mayor or, under certain circumstances, the police commission. But only the city administration can place an employee on paid administrative leave.
At one point, Thao and Reiskin had a private conversation and came to the decision to put Armstrong on leave. Then Thao and Reiskin told Armstrong together.
Still unclear is how the new findings and suspension of Armstrong will affect the Oakland Police Department’s 20year monitoring by the federal government.
“Oakland and its Police Department have taken the negotiated settlement agreement very seriously and undertaken a number of steps to improve our systems for accountability and transparency,” the joint statement read. “As part of that resolve, we have to hold officers accountable when they violate the public trust.”