Oakland Police replace third interim chief in nine days

OAKLAND, Calif., June 18 (UPI) -- A third Oakland, Calif., police chief in a span of nine days resigned and the department will be run under civilian control.

Acting Chief Paul Figueroa submitted his resignation to Mayor Libby Schaaf on Friday. The department's top officials will report to City Administrator Sabrina Landreth, the mayor said during a news conference Friday night.

Figueroa had been appointed to replace Interim Chief Ben Fairow on Wednesday after the mayor said she received negative information about his ability to run the department.

Fairow lasted just six days after he replaced Chief Sean Whent on June 9 in the wake of a sexual misconduct scandal involving more than a dozen police officers and three other East Bay law enforcement agencies. Two officers have resigned and three were placed on administrative leave, city officials said.

City officials called Whent's decision a "personal choice" but three sources told The Los Angeles Times that Whent mishandled the sex scandal investigation.

No reason was given for Figueroa's resignation, but it came in light of an announcement by the mayor of a new internal investigation involving racist text messages and emails among officers. However, she said this inquiry doesn't involve Fugueroa.

"I am here to run a police department, not a frat house," the mayor said.

She said the racist communications that were "wholly inappropriate and not acceptable for anyone who wears the badge of the Oakland Police Department.

She said the texts were sent by African-American officers, but would not elaborate, saying state law prevents public release of police disciplinary matters.

Because she said she has lost faith in police leaders to run the department, she won't appoint another interim or acting chief to the top post.

"I feel that this is an appropriate time to place civilian oversight over this Police Department, to send a clear message about not tolerating misconduct, and to root out what is clearly a toxic, macho culture," Schaaf said.

"I'm hoping to not have to fire anyone else anytime soon," the mayor said the mayor.

The department has been under federal oversight for 13 years.

"It appears to be a cesspool here," John Burris, the attorney who negotiated a 2003 settlement that placed Oakland police under federal oversight, told the Los Angeles Times. "But you gotta keep working at it to drain the swamps."