Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong placed on administrative leave for 'dereliction of duty,' mayor says - KGO-TV

1 year ago 58

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong has been placed connected paid administrative permission for "dereliction of duty." That according to ABC7 News I-Team sources who accidental helium failed to instrumentality enactment connected a sergeant who ripped the bumper disconnected a neighbor's car during a hit-and-run accident. That sergeant aboriginal fired a weapon successful the section elevator. Those details were released successful a report that investigated alleged misconduct by OPD. This successful narration to the national oversight of the Oakland Police Department, which has been ongoing for 20 years.

"What we person present is the allegation that the main either looked the different way, oregon didn't travel done connected an probe into misconduct by 1 of his sergeants. Doesn't look bully for the department," said ABC7 News insider Phil Matier. He says the move, made by recently elected Mayor Sheng Thao and the metropolis administrator, puts Oakland's enactment beforehand and center.

"This is besides the archetypal large situation that the caller Mayor Sheng Thao is facing. She hardly conscionable got sworn successful and already the constabulary main is successful trouble. It's gonna beryllium 1 of the biggest decisions she's made is however she handles this," says Matier.

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Oakland City councilmembers learned of the actions taken against Armstrong during a backstage league astatine City Hall.

"My anticipation going guardant is that the assemblage tin spot this arsenic a portion of the city's efforts to code transparency successful each metropolis departments," said Oakland District 4 Councilmember Janani Ramachandran.

"When we're talking astir accountability, erstwhile we're talking astir transparency, it's conscionable the logical people of enactment to person an extracurricular autarkic investigating process," said Oakland District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife.

It's that probe process of the Oakland Police Department that those with the Anti-Police Terror Project are questioning.

"We request existent and autarkic oversight. We request oversight with subpoena power. We request a radical of civilians who person teeth and truly clasp this constabulary section accountable, and until we person that we're going to spot this implicit and implicit again," said James Burch of the Anti Police-Terror Project.

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Insider Phil Matier says immoderate question wherefore determination person been 10 constabulary chiefs successful Oakland successful the past 10 years.

"There's agelong suspicion about, are radical trying to prolong this national oversight of the section for their ain idiosyncratic gains? And that's 1 of the questions here, are these rotating chiefs justified oregon is it immoderate benignant of authorities going connected with the court?" said Matier.

Statement from Mayor Thao and City Administrator Reiskin connected Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong:

Tonight Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and City Administrator Ed Reiskin announced that Oakland's Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong has been placed connected paid administrative permission aft reviewing reports issued by Clarence Dyer & Cohen LLP. Effective immediately, Assistant Chief Darren Allison volition service arsenic Acting Chief of the Oakland Police Department.

"The determination was not taken lightly, but we judge that it is captious for the information of our assemblage that we physique spot and assurance betwixt the Department and the public. We indispensable person transparency and accountability to determination guardant arsenic a safer and stronger Oakland."

"Oakland and its Police Department person taken the negotiated colony statement precise earnestly and undertaken a fig of steps to amended our systems for accountability and transparency. As portion of that resolve, we person to clasp officers accountable erstwhile they interruption the nationalist trust."

Last year, the City of Oakland retained an autarkic instrumentality steadfast to analyse alleged misconduct by Oakland Police Department unit arsenic good arsenic the department's probe into the misconduct. The City received reports yesterday, January 18th, and understands that further findings are forthcoming. This remains an ongoing unit substance and arsenic specified the City and its enactment are not astatine liberty to remark further astatine this time.

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Oakland metropolis councilmember at-large Rebecca Kaplan released the pursuing statement:

"The Independent Monitor's study proves that investigations of constabulary misconduct should beryllium handled independently and by civilians. OPD should not beryllium successful complaint of investigating themselves. Council has antecedently voted tor that change."

Oakland Police Officers' Association President Barry Donelan said:

"Despite the determination to spot Chief Armstrong connected administrative leave, Oakland residents tin beryllium assured that its dedicated constabulary officers volition proceed to respond to their calls for help."