Oakland police chief fired after alleged cover-up of officer’s misconduct: ‘serious cultural issues’

The city of Oakland, California, fired its police chief on Wednesday over an alleged cover-up of officer misconduct, marking the loss of the city’s seventh police chief since 2016, the department’s 20-year federal oversight.

Democratic Mayor Sheng Tao announced she was firing police chief LeRonn Armstrong after an independent investigation concluded that the chief and department failed to properly investigate and punish the sergeant. Michael Chang, who was involved in a hit-and-run with his squad car in 2021.

Another incident also revealed that Chang fired a firearm in an elevator at police headquarters, the Associated Press reported.

Tao, who took office last month, said in a lengthy statement that the federal judge overseeing the city said he was “deeply disappointed” by the evidence he saw, and the report showed “significant cultural issues” within the Oakland police force.

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Oakland Police Chief LeRonn Armstrong speaks at a press conference outside City Hall in Oakland, California on August 30, 2022. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

The issues were deemed serious enough to warrant the withdrawal of the Oakland Police for violating an important requirement of a negotiated settlement agreement originally agreed in January 2003.

Tao said she personally believes the report shows that continued reform is absolutely essential to address the issues identified.

“As Oakland continues to improve its police department, we must be confident that our chief will effectively drive sustainable improvements that can be recognized by the federal watchdog, the federal courthouse, and the people of Oakland,” Tao said.

She said she admired Armstrong, made her decision difficult, but she had to put aside personal relationships and feelings in order for progress to continue.

“Chief Armstrong has my respect and appreciation for his service to the Department and the city he grew up in and loves dearly. He will continue to enjoy my respect and appreciation,” Tao added.

She also made it clear that many Oakland police officers serve the community with integrity and work “extremely hard” to maintain and build trust in the community, but the high standards set for officers must also be achieved in leadership.

Armstrong was placed on paid administrative leave last month while the mayor reviewed investigations by the department’s federal monitor that found Armstrong guilty of “gross dereliction of duty.”

Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao announces the dismissal of Oakland Police Chief Leron Armstrong during a press conference at Oakland, California City Hall on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. (Jane Tiska/Bay Area News Group via AP)

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According to the Associated Press, an investigation by the law firm of Clarence Dyer and Cohen found that Armstrong failed to investigate and punish Chang after he hit a Mercedes parked in a stall next to his squad car as he left the garage of his apartment building. in San Francisco.

The report, first obtained by KTVU-TV and made public by a local Oaklandside TV station, states that Officer Kayla Brandwood was with Chang at the time of the March 25, 2021 incident. Although Chang stopped for about five seconds, none of the officers got out of the car after the incident. collision. Reportedly, CCTV footage from the garage showed that the impact from the collision had “torn off” the front bumper from the Mercedes.

The accident was never reported to regulators, and the city only became aware of the incident when it received a lawsuit from Progressive Insurance detailing what had happened.

In its 56-page report, the law firm said the department’s internal affairs police captain downplayed the hit-and-run incident and taught the coroner how to write a report that allowed Chang to get away with it.

A year later, in 2022, Chang fired his service weapon in an elevator at OPD headquarters, disposed of the evidence, and only reported it to his superiors a week later, AP reported. He has reportedly been on paid administrative leave ever since.

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An Oakland Police patrol car in front of Oakland Police Headquarters on December 6, 2012 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Oakland Police made national news in 2000 after a rookie officer reported abuse of power by a group of officers known as the Oakland Riders. Four police officers were charged with making false arrests, planting evidence, using excessive force, falsifying police reports and assaulting people in a predominantly black area of ​​western Oakland, AP reported.

The three officers were acquitted after two separate jurors deadlocked most of the charges. A fourth officer is on the run and is believed to have left the US.

The case led to the decision to place the department under federal supervision in January 2003. The agreement called for 52 reform measures and a mandatory progress report to an outside observer and a federal judge.

Armstrong, an Oakland native with strong community support, was named police chief in 2021 after the department has been plagued by new scandals for years. He promised that his priority would be to carry out all the reforms within a year.

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Armstrong said he is deeply disappointed by the decision to fire him and it will become clear he did no wrong once all the facts are assessed, according to a statement released by spokesman Sam Singer.

“Once the relevant facts are fully assessed by weighing the evidence, rather than extracting sound bites from strategically leaked, inaccurate reports, it will be clear that I was a loyal and effective reformer of the Oakland Police Department,” the statement said. “It will also be clear that I did not commit any wrongdoing and my dismissal is fundamentally wrong, unreasonable and unfair. I expect to release a more detailed statement soon, once I have had a chance to fully digest the mayor’s remarks.”

Oakland Police Chief LeRonn Armstrong speaks to members of the press and supporters at a conference at Acts Full Gospel Church in Oakland, California on Sunday, February 5, 2023. (Bronte Witpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Armstrong was the 13th person to lead the department since federal oversight began in 2003. He received the support of John Burris, one of two lawyers who filed a lawsuit against the Oakland police in 2000 on behalf of 119 plaintiffs.

Burris reportedly said he was disappointed that Tao had based her decision on what he considered “not very strong evidence of wrongdoing on Mr. Armstrong’s part.”

The lawyer, who has met regularly with the police department and the federal watchdog over the past 20 years, said the police department has made “great progress and positive changes” in how it interacts with the community.

“We don’t have the beatings that we had before. We don’t have people being stopped because of their race at the same level as before. We don’t have the shooting and lethal force that we used to have. earlier. We don’t have the kind of mentally retarded abuse that we do,” Burris said.

While Burris said the issue at hand is a cultural issue within the police, adding that it’s “disappointing that it hasn’t changed”.

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The Oakland Police Department building stands in Oakland, California, USA on Thursday, June 4, 2020. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The department was due to exit federal oversight in June after Federal Judge William Orrick placed the OPD on one year of probation last year, saying “substantial compliance” had been achieved. In January, his decision to release some of the law firm’s records led to Armstrong being placed on paid administrative leave.

“The report … demonstrates that serious cultural issues in the department are being left unaddressed,” Orrick said during a virtual hearing.

The city was ordered to submit its plan by 4 April.

Oakland Police did not respond to Fox News Digital’s question regarding the interim police chief.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.