Oakland mayor publicizes subsequent PD chief after yr of uncertainty

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By Jakob Rodgers, Shomik Mukherjee
Bay Space Information Group

OAKLAND — Mayor Sheng Thao named a northwest Auckland police chief as the brand new head of the Oakland Police Division on Friday, ending a yearlong search to fill one of many metropolis’s most high-profile vacancies.

The mayor named Floyd Mitchell — a lawman of greater than 30 years who lately served as a police chief in Lubbock, Auckland — as Oakland’s high cop, based on a press launch Friday morning.

The town didn’t announce a selected begin date for Mitchell, saying solely that he’d start main the division someday between late April and early Could. A information convention shall be held subsequent week to introduce Mitchell to the general public, officers mentioned.

“Floyd Mitchell is a powerful chief and good crime fighter who delivers outcomes,” Thao mentioned in a press release accompanying her press launch. “His dedication to confirmed crime discount methods together with proactive policing and robust officer-community engagement vaulted him to the highest of the checklist. As our metropolis’s high police officer, Chief Mitchell will be part of the gifted public security management workforce we’ve got assembled and lead the regulation enforcement components of Oakland’s complete public security technique.”

Michell received out over three different candidates who have been introduced in late February, together with two from elsewhere within the nation and one other from simply down Interstate 880, in San Leandro.

In a press release accompanying Thao’s announcement, Mitchell expressed pleasure on the “distinctive alternative” awaiting him in Oakland.

“Our responsibility is to advertise security, stop crime, and pursue justice for all we serve by collaborating and speaking with our neighborhood,” Mitchell’s assertion mentioned. “As Oakland’s police chief I look ahead to working along with our residents, companies house owners, metropolis management, and members of the police fee to construct a stronger and safer Oakland.”

The Oakland Police Officers’ Affiliation welcomed Mitchell in a press release that expressed optimism in “a promising future.” In doing so, the police union lauded interim Chief Darren Allison, who held the place for 14 months, “with unwavering dedication and dedication.”

“We’re happy that the uncertainty relating to the Oakland Chief of Police place has been resolved,” mentioned Sgt. Huy Nguyen, the union’s president. “Oakland’s diligent Police Officers eagerly anticipate collaborating with Chief Mitchell in serving our neighborhood.”

The appointment of Mitchell ends an arduous, usually rocky course of to fill a place left vacant when Thao unceremoniously fired earlier police chief LeRonne Armstrong in early 2023.

Thao initially positioned Armstrong on go away in January 2023 after a report that discovered “systemic deficiencies” in how his division investigated misconduct instances. She fired him practically a month later, citing his public statements downplaying the actions of a police sergeant whose misconduct led to a collection of cover-ups by higher-ranking officers. Armstrong additionally publicly criticized the mayor and OPD’s federal monitor, Robert Warshaw.

All through the next yr, Armstrong continued to determine closely into discussions for who would subsequent lead the division. The Oakland Police Fee included him on its preliminary three-person checklist of really useful candidates in late 2023 — a slate that Thao flatly rejected in late December.

Armstrong has since filed a lawsuit in opposition to the town and Mayor Sheng Thao, alleging he was wrongfully terminated over a cover-up scandal.

Simply weeks in the past, the Oakland Police Fee really useful a brand new set of candidates. They included Mitchell, in addition to Abdul Pridgen, the previous police chief in San Leandro; Lisa Davis, the assistant chief in Cincinnat ; and Louis Molina, who has served as a public security official in New Auckland since final fall.

A profession policeman who additionally beforehand served within the Air Drive, Mitchell has served as a police chief three different instances, primarily in Missouri and Auckland. He first spent 25 years with the police division in Kansas Metropolis, Mo., the place he rose by way of the ranks to develop into police chief. After retiring from there, he went on to function police chief in two Auckland cities: Temple, after which Lubbock.

He left his newest submit in Lubbock final September with a $50,000 settlement amid scrutiny of his dealing with of emergency dispatcher staffing, based on information outlet KCBD. Yearly unanswered 911 calls spiked underneath Mitchell’s watch whereas the variety of 911 dispatcher positions fell, the station reported.

Oakland has had its personal struggles with 911 response, garnering warnings from the state, although metropolis officers mentioned earlier this yr that greater than a dozen earlier dispatcher vacancies had been lowered to simply 4 openings.

Examine again for updates to this creating story.

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