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New timeline in search for next Oakland police chief
Back to the drawing board after Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao shot down all three of the police chief candidates recommended by the Oakland Police Commission on Wednesday.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Back to the drawing board after Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao shot down all three of the police chief candidates recommended by the Oakland Police Commission on Wednesday.
"The Oakland Police Commission restarted the hiring process," Commission Chair Marsha Peterson said.
Oakland police have gone without a top cop since February.
"There’s been no police chief in this town since February?" Oakland resident Cyncaer Colbert asked.
"I feel like that’s pretty irresponsible," Oakland resident Ali Khalaf told KTVU.
Former Chief Leronne Armstrong was fired by the mayor in February, according to the mayor, for mishandling officer misconduct investigations.
"I think it's crazy, man," Oakland resident Reginald Richner said. "I’m not sure who’s to blame for it, but for a commission to take this long to do that it don’t make no sense whatsoever."
The commission, a group of seven citizens charged with recommending three candidates for the mayor to hire, revealed a new timeline for the interviewing process on Thursday night.
"To allow for an equitable and substantive process," Peterson said.
Open recruitment will start on Jan. 1 and continue all month long, the commission will spend the entire month of February evaluating candidates, and the mayor will be handed a list of candidates on March 1, according to the commission.
"I think that’s a problem," Oakland resident Laura Bandler said. "Obviously, if we’re going to have police, we should have somebody in charge of them."
In September, Thao appeared on KTVU and was asked if she thought we would see a new chief in place before the end of 2023.
"I’m really hopeful that we will. And if we don’t, and I’ll say it right here today, and if we don’t, I will declare a state of emergency to get a police chief because this process has been held up by the Police Commission for far too long," Mayor Thao said.
KTVU reached out to the mayor’s office for an interview on Thursday, but instead, we were told by her spokesperson, "Finding the right leader for the police department is a priority and Mayor Thao intends to conduct this process in a timely manner."
The timeline, however, will take at least three more months.