Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The newly elected mayor of Oakland, Calif., fired the city's police chief Wednesday after saying his handling of two recent internal misconduct investigations had undermined further confidence in his leadership.
Only a month into her tenure, Mayor Sheng Thao issued a statement saying she had lost trust in Chief LeRonne Armstrong and explained that she made the decision to fire him without any prior approval from the Oakland Police Commission due to its failure to complete a timely investigation into OPD Sgt. Michael Chung.
"Chief Armstrong made a number of statements that troubled me," Thao said in reference to two internal probes involving Chung, claiming the department's 12th chief since 2009 "had repeatedly failed to rigorously investigate misconduct and hold officers accountable."
Thao said Armstrong's response to the cases against Chung, including his repeated denials of wrongdoing, have exposed deeper issues within the department and potentially weakened his standing in the community.
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"I am no longer confident that Chief Armstrong can do the work that is needed to achieve the vision," Thao declared at a Wednesday press briefing. "Oakland needs a police department that welcomes opportunities for improvement rather than immediately rejecting criticism."
Despite the budding tension between the mayor and the commission, Thao vowed to work with the panel to find the department's next leader, while also citing her goal to redirect the culture of policing in Oakland.
"It is clear to me that there are systemic issues the city needs to address and that we cannot simply write them off as 'mistakes,'" she wrote.
Members of the commission later indicated they would stand with Thao, but also acknowledged they were caught off guard because the mayor didn't give them a heads up prior to her decision.
The body also cited the city charter, which ensures an open process -- including its right to be involved -- in selecting the next chief.
The mayor also revealed that she did not personally call Armstrong to tell him that he was being let go, suggesting that the message was sent by another high-ranking official inside city hall.
"This process has reinforced my commitment to making decisions based on the best interests of the department and the city, not based on personal feelings or relationship," Thao said.
After his termination was announced, Armstrong hired an attorney and released a statement declaring his innocence.
"I am deeply disappointed in the mayor's decision," the statement read. "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. It will be equally clear that I committed no misconduct, and my termination is fundamentally wrong, unjustified, and unfair."
Armstrong said he would address the matter again soon with a "more detailed statement ... once I have the chance to fully digest the mayor's remarks."
Previously, Armstrong was placed on paid administrative leave last month following an internal affairs investigation into Sgt. Michael Chung. At the conclusion of that probe, an independent law firm was hired to investigate the department's handling of the case, and released a 16-page report that accused Armstrong of "gross dereliction of duty."
The report further states that Armstrong was "not credible" when he denied knowing details he should have known about the two internal investigations involving a key officer under his command.
Armstrong has continued to deny any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "baseless" and "unsupported."
"History has shown, I've held people accountable," the chief told KTVU during a Monday interview. "I don't give special treatment."
Chung was placed on administrative leave in April 2022 following an investigation that revealed the officer intentionally wrecked his San Francisco neighbor's car and sped away in March 2021, causing $14,000 in damage. The incident led to the victim filing an insurance claim, which surprised officials when it arrived at Oakland's city hall.
The resulting investigation found other police officials higher up the chain of command, including Capt. Wilson Lau, became part of a wider conspiracy in the department to cover up Chung's crime, claiming he was part of a "preventable" collision instead of a felony hit-and-run.
From there, Armstrong approved falsified reports backing up the phony story, and Chung was able to emerge unscathed from the incident after receiving counseling and additional training, the report by the law firm Clarence Dyer and Cohen law alleges.
Almost a year later, Chung inexplicably fired his service weapon inside an elevator at the police department. No one was hurt, but he didn't tell his superiors about what happened until a week later -- and after he had gotten rid of the spent shell casings by tossing them into San Francisco Bay.
Chung said he later confided to fellow deputies that he wanted to take his own life, but investigating attorneys have said previously that they don't believe this.
Armstrong's apparent inaction on the two matters allowed Chung to slip through the cracks without proper discipline, while also demonstrating a general "lack of attention to internal processes that should have been laser-sharp and focused on an investigation involving a pattern of criminal misconduct," investigators noted.
The report also called out a "problem with the tone at the top -- at least when it comes to the department's commitment to policing itself."
