Oakland police chief candidates revealed; mayor rejects all 3

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland's mayor on Wednesday sent back the names of the three police chief candidates submitted to her office after the city has been without a top law enforcement official for nearly a year.

Neither the mayor nor the police commission would make public the candidates. But two sources with knowledge of the situation shared the names with KTVU. 

The candidates are: former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong who Mayor Sheng Thao fired in February over what an outside firm deemed two botched Internal Affairs investigations; San Leandro Police Chief Abdul Pridgen, who was placed on leave in September amid some sort of investigation into departmental policy violations that the city wouldn't reveal; and Kevin Hall, who is now the assistant police chief in Tucson, Ariz.

In a statement from her office, Thao said she has requested a new list of candidates from the Oakland Police Commission. 

"The Oakland Police Chief leads a critical component of the Mayor’s comprehensive community safety strategy," the statement said. 

If she was angry or annoyed at the choices – including a man she fired and vowed not to hire back – she didn't show it publicly. 

In her statement, Thao thanked the Oakland Police Commission "for their continued service and looks forward to working with the commissioners to select the best possible candidate for Oakland."

The Oakland Police Commission sent the mayor its list earlier this month. 

Marsha Peterson, the commission's chair, did not respond to KTVU's one-on-one request seeking further explanation on the candidate list, especially on sending Armstrong's name to the mayor. 

But in a statement, she wrote: "We respect the Mayor’s decision to ask for a new list of candidates. The Oakland Police Commission will continue to perform our duty under the City Charter to review candidates and provide recommendations to the Mayor."

Thao had previously said she had lost trust in Armstrong, after his repeated denials that he had done anything wrong after independent auditors deemed him "not credible" for failing to properly investigate one of his sergeants involved in a hit-and-run, and that there were deep problems and coverups in the department under his watch.

Armstrong has always maintained his innocence and he was – and is – supported by many members of the police commission and groups, including the NAACP. 

Many credit him with leading the department from being the closest chief to getting OPD out from 20 years of federal oversight. 

And in September, Maria Rivera, a retired California Court of Appeals judge, issued a non-binding decision siding with Armstrong in his legal claim against the city. But Rivera declined to render an opinion on whether Armstrong should be reinstated to the police chief position.

Armstrong also released a statement Wednesday evening in response to Thao rejecting the list of candidates.

"It is unfair that I am unable to continue to serve and protect the people of Oakland," Armstrong wrote in a message emailed by his public relations strategist Sam Singer. "As a native of Oakland, nothing gave me greater pleasure and pride than to work in my community and fight to improve it."

The other candidates were not immediately available for comment either on Wednesday. 

Pridgen became San Leandro’s police chief in 2021 after being passed over for the same job in Oakland. Before that, he served as Seaside’s police chief and was president of the California Police Chiefs Association.

When Pridgen arrived in Seaside in 2018, he was still actively involved in a lawsuit tied to his former position as assistant police chief in Fort Worth, Texas, where he leaked body-worn camera footage and personnel file of a white officer who arrested a Black woman after she called the police to report the alleged assault of her son. 

Pridgen and a fellow officer sued the city of Fort Worth, alleging they should have been protected from retaliation under the Texas Whistleblower Act. But the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city in 2022, the Star-Telegram reported.

Hall has been assistant chief in Tucson since 2016, the same year former Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus became Tucson's police chief. 

Hall was in the running to be Seattle's police chief in 2022 but did not get that job. 

Community members and activists were upset with what transpired.

Civil rights attorney Jim Chanin, who used to be on the police commission's selection panel to find a new chief, told KTVU that this list smacked of political infighting.

"It's in your face," Chanin said, specifically referring to passing Armstrong's name along. "Because everyone knew that the mayor wasn't going to accept Chief Armstrong, and we have to get serious about this. This is a serious selection. We have a lot of crime in Oakland. We can't play political games at the expense of the citizens of Oakland."

Rashidah Grinage, a founding member of the Coalition for Police Accountability, said that the entire situation is "unfortunate." Her colleague, Millie Cleveland, echoed that the commission's decision was "irresponsible" and disprespectful." 

Former City Councilman Loren Taylor, who lost to Thao in the election and is a vocal Armstrong supporter, was also upset – but mostly at the mayor. 

"I’m frustrated that #Oakland is BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD on solving a public safety leadership crisis that was completely avoidable in the first place," he posted on X, adding the hashtag, #GoodLeadershipMatters.

In an interview, Councilman Noel Gallo – another Armstrong supporter – said he can't understand why it's taking so long to fill the city's most arguably important position. 

"There is no excuse at any governmental level from the mayor down why we have not made a selection or recommendation to bring someone on board," Gallo said. 

It's not clear how much longer it will take the police commission to meet again and come up with another – or the same – list of candidates to provide to the mayor. 

For now, Darren Allison is acting interim chief of a city that has had 10 chiefs in as many years. 

But in her statement, Peterson vowed to "work collaboratively and diligently with the Mayor to find exceptional candidates for Oakland."

KTVU's Henry Lee contributed to this report.