Oakland Police Commission inches closer to finding police chief amid calls for 2 commissioners to resign
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Police Commission is set to select a search firm to find a new police chief, two weeks after the mayor criticized the commissioners for not being able to agree on a consultant and amid calls for two of the commissioners to resign immediately.
The seven commissioners are poised to vote at their regular Thursday meeting on hiring The Byers Group of Marina Del Rey, Calif., to lead up the search to find a replacement for LeRonne Armstrong.
Mayor Sheng Thao fired Armstrong in February after an outside investigator found he wasn't credible and had derelicted his duty in two Internal Affairs investigations.
Two weeks ago, Thao told KTVU that she was frustrated with the commissioners for not being able to come to a consensus to select a firm to begin the search, and several in the community cited the commission's dysfunction as a key reason why.
The commission's agenda item did not state how much the consultant would cost the city. But in 2016, a firm was going to charge the commission $850,000 to find a new chief to replace Anne Kirkpatrick. The commissioners at the time decided to save money and head up the search themselves.
The Byers Group estimated it would take at least five months to undergo a full search process for a new chief once they are hired.
The company touts itself as an executive search and C-suite consulting group, which helped Oakland hire its current chief of violence prevention, high-level probation officers in Alameda County and San Francisco, and police chiefs in Charlotte, NC, Detroit, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.
Oakland police chief search hasn't started; critics say commission is dysfunctional
It's been four months since Mayor Sheng Thao fired the city's police chief – and there's no timeframe on when Oakland will get a new top cop. Much of the blame is pointed at the dysfunction of the police commission.
Meanwhile, there have been calls from a growing number of community members, including some on the City Council, for Oakland Police Commission Chair Tyfahra Milele and Commissioner Brenda Harbin-Forte to be removed from the commission, including a rally Tuesday in front of City Hall demanding just that.
Also on Tuesday, the Coalition for Police Accountability – a progressive group of police reform advocates – wrote a letter to the City Council, asking for the pair's removal.
"There is a complete abuse of power," Commissioner Regina Jackson told KTVU on Tuesday.
Jackson used to chair the commission for three years and has publicly shown disdain regarding the recent actions of Milele and Harbin-Forte.
As examples of this, Jackson pointed to a scathing letter Milele sent out on commission letterhead after KTVU ran a story about the comission's issues, claiming inaccurately that the story was full of false accusations and decrying her critics as "politically ambitious zealots."
That letter was sent out without the full commission's knowledge or support, Jackson said.
As another example, Harbin-Forte filed a Public Ethics Complaint against Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, alleging he was threatening Milele and abusing his power in office to question her about the dysfunction of the commission.
"There is no merit to those accusations," Jenkins said in an interview.
Harbin-Forte has also been lobbing personal attacks at Jackson, Jenkins and Cathy Leonard, president of the Coalition for Police Accountability, the group responsible for Measure LL that created the commission and Measure S1, which enlarged the powers of the civilian oversight of the Oakland Police Department.
Milele and Harbin Forte did not immediately respond to KTVU's request for comment.
The mayor has the power to remove Harbin-Forte from her post as she is a mayoral appointee from the Libby Schaaf administration, whose term has run out.
The City Council or the commission would need six votes to oust Milele, as she was appointed to the commission by a community-based selection committee.
Coalition for Police Accountability president Cathy Leonard rallies to oust two Oakland Police Commissioners who she and others say are abusing their power.
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez