JiveVib

The city of Oakland, California fired its police chief Wednesday over the allegations that he repeatedly covered up for another officer's misconduct.

The departure of Chief LeRonne Armstrong marks the crime-ridden city's seventh head of police since 2016.

The department has also been under federal oversight for two decades.

Democratic Mayor Sheng Thao announced she was firing Armstrong after an independent investigation concluded the chief failed to properly investigate and discipline Sergeant Michael Chung after he was involved in a hit-and-run with his patrol car in 2021.

A separate incident of concern showed that Chung had fired his gun inside an elevator at police headquarters.

Thao, who became the struggling city's mayor just last month, said that the federal judge overseeing the city had expressed profound disappointment in the evidence that had come across his desk.

The judge said the report demonstrated 'significant culture problems' with the police department.

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong was ousted on Wednesday after being placed on administrative leave last month for his role covering up the misconduct of an Oakland officer

Newly elected Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao announced Wednesday that police chief LeRonne Armstrong was fired over the cover-up of an officer's misconduct that he had overseen. She said she respected Armstrong but had to put her personal feelings aside in the interest of the public and the health of the department

The department's ongoing issues were determined to be serious enough to render the Oakland PD out of compliance with a set of requirements agreed to in 2003.

'As Oakland continues to improve its police department, we must be confident that our Chief will be effective in making sustainable improvements that can be recognized by the federal monitor, the federal court and the people of Oakland,' said Thao.

She said the decision to fire Armstrong was hard for her, personally, as she admired Armstrong, but she was required to put personal relationships and feelings aside in order for the department to improve.

'Chief Armstrong has my respect and appreciation for his service to the Department and to the City that he grew up in and that he loves dearly. He will continue to have my respect and appreciation,' she said.

She further noted her admiration for the many Oakland police officers who work 'extremely hard' and serve the public with integrity.

In January, Armstrong was placed on paid administrative leave as the mayor reviewed investigations by the federal monitor assigned to the department, which ultimately found Armstrong responsible for a 'gross dereliction of duty.'

He said he was incredibly disappointed in the decision to fire him and that once all the facts are evaluated, it will be clear he committed no misconduct

'After the relevant facts are fully evaluated by weighing evidence instead of pulling soundbites from strategically leaked, inaccurate reports, it will be clear I was a loyal and effective reformer of the Oakland Police Department,' read a statement from Armstrong's representative Sam Singer.

'It will be equally clear that I committed no misconduct, and my termination is fundamentally wrong, unjustified, and unfair. I anticipate releasing a more detailed statement soon once I have the chance to fully digest the Mayor’s remarks.' 

The probe into the department reportedly revealed that Armstrong failed to appropriately investigate and discipline Chung after he hit a Mercedes Benz parked next to him while exiting the parking garage of his San Francisco building.

The report found that Officer Kayla Brandwood was with Chung during the incident nearly two years ago - on March 25, 2021.

Though Chung stopped his patrol car for roughly five seconds, neither law enforcement officer stepped out of the vehicle despite surveillance footage from the parking garage showing that impact from the collision 'ripped' the front bumper off the luxury vehicle.

The crash was not subsequently reported to supervisors, nor was the city made aware of the incident until it received a claim from Progressive Insurance detailing what had happened.

In the 56-page report from the law firm of Clarence Dyer and Cohen said a police captain in the department's Internal Affairs Division undermined the severity of the incident and coached the investigating officer to draft a report allowing Chung to escape serious discipline.

One year later, Chung fired his gun inside an elevator at Oakland Police headquarters and hid the evidence.

He did not inform his supervisors until a week after the incident and has reportedly been on paid leave ever since.

Armstrong was the 13th person to lead the ailing department since the federal oversight began in 2003.

He was backed by John Burris, one of two attorneys who filed the initial lawsuit against the department back in 2000.

Even after his dismissal, Burris is standing by Armstrong and said he was disappointed in Thao's decision based on what he believes is 'not very strong evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Armstrong.'

The Oakland police department has been under federal oversight since 2003 after significant corruption and bad behavior was discovered among its ranks

The PD was scheduled this June to end its oversight after a one-year probationary period, but a judge now says the report about Armstrong's behavior 'demonstrates that the significant cultural problems within the department remain unaddressed' 

Crime in Oakland has decreased in the last 10 years, but it remains one of the most dangerous cities in California

The city will now have to present a plan to fall into compliance with guidelines from its federal oversight advisor in early April

Armstrong said he is disappointed in the decision to terminate him but believes he will be vindicated once all the facts are understood

The department had been scheduled to escape its federal oversight in June after Federal Judge William Orrick placed it on a one-year probationary period due to the 'substantial compliance' that had been achieved.

But in January, he decided to make a portion of the law firm reports public, which led to Armstrong's administrative leave.

During a virtual hearing, the judge said, 'The report … demonstrates that the significant cultural problems within the department remain unaddressed.'

The city has been ordered to present its plan to comply by early April.

In 2000, the department made national news after a new officer came forward to report significant abuse of power by a group of officers known as the Oakland 'Riders.'

Four officers wound up being charged with a litany of misconduct, including making false arrests, planting evidence, using excessive force, falsifying police reports and assaulting people in mostly black areas of the city.

Three of the officers were acquitted by a deadlocked jury and one became a fugitive and is believed to have left the US.

As a result, the department was placed under federal oversight in January 2003, which consisted of, among other things, the enactment of 52 reform measures and the mandatory reporting of progress to a federal judge.

Armstrong, when he became police chief in 2021, promised to enact all reforms within a year. 

Oakland consistently ranks as one of the state's most dangerous cities. 

In 2021, there were 134 homicides in the city adjacent to San Francisco, which remains under the cloud of dangerous streets polluted with thieves and drug users.

According to Traveling Lifestyle, about 1,274 violent crimes occur per 100,000 people in Oakland, roughly 235 the national average.

Though there has been a decrease in crime in Oakland over the past decade, gang related violence is still at the center of many crimes in the Bay Area town that is California's eighth largest city.. 

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2BcoOUcm5qa1%2BErqy4wKebZp6Zp7K0ec%2Boo6KblWKwqbXEn2Scp6aav6q6xmamn56ZmLKzecinraikppqxbrTIrWSrrZ5ivaLA0aijZpuRp3upwMyl