It’s been a yr since Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao fired former police Chief LeRonne Armstrong and since then, disagreements and drama have surrounded the seek for the subsequent chief.
On Tuesday, the police fee introduced a list of 4 candidates — not from town of Oakland.
“It’s been so long,” mentioned Anne Kirkpatrick.
She’s the chief of police in New Orleans and likewise a former Oakland police chief. She mentioned one of the primary issues she observed from the list of candidates is that they’re all outsiders.
“They’re going to have to be very intentional about how they go about building relationships,” she mentioned.
- Abdul Pridgen was chief of police in San Leandro up till final week after allegations he violated division coverage.
- Floyd Mitchell is the previous Lubbock police chief in Texas. He resigned in September of final yr after his division was criticized over deserted 911 calls.
- Lisa Davis is the assistant police chief in Cincinnati and the investigations bureau commander.
- Louis Molina is at the moment the assistant deputy mayor for public security for town of New York. According to the New York Times, he’s been criticized for failing to enhance situations on the metropolis’s jails.
A list of candidates had already been offered to Mayor Thao in December. She rejected all candidates on the list and requested a brand new list from the police fee.
A spokesperson for the mayor says her workplace hasn’t seen the official list but however, “Mayor Thao looks forward to receiving the list of finalists and conducting her due diligence in reviewing the candidates.”
Kirkpatrick mentioned the subsequent chief of police should construct relationships internally, and with politicians.
“The challenge is going to be handling the politics of that city, which are very difficult,” she mentioned. “People are going to be assessing the new chief on their credentials, their credibility, their legitimacy.”
City Councilmember Noel Gallo mentioned he needs a police chief who will likely be on the streets of Oakland.
“How do we maintain and grow our businesses faster? And secondly, how do we create a setting where grandma and grandpa can walk freely in the afternoon or in the evening here on our business corridors?” he mentioned.
Residents will get an opportunity to weigh in at Oakland City Hall Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/information/native/east-bay/oakland-police-chief-candidates/3465749/