Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao on Wednesday fired Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong one month after he was placed on administrative leave.
“I am no longer confident that Chief Armstrong can do the work needed to achieve the vision. So today, I have decided to separate Chief LeRonne Armstrong from the city without cause,” Thao said, adding that her decision was “not easy, but necessary,” according to NBC Bay Area.
#BREAKING Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao fires Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. @nbcbayarea https://t.co/akiYeFYyaR pic.twitter.com/hMfu1IK51I
— Janelle Wang (@janellewang) February 16, 2023
Armstrong was placed on administrative leave following the results of an independent investigation that found that Armstrong had mishandled at least two departmental investigations.
In those investigations, it was discovered that the same police officer had been involved in two separate incidents; a hit-and-run involving a police cruiser and the discharge of a weapon inside a freight elevator at the Police Administration building. In each incident investigators found, “multiple deficiencies in process and policy that undermined the full and complete discovery of the facts.” Some of those deficiencies, the investigators found, were due to a lack of leadership that failed to hold officers accountable.
Following the report’s release, Armstrong downplayed the seriousness of one of the incidents and rejected the idea that there were “systemic problems” within the department, NBC Bay Area reported.
“I am deeply disappointed in the Mayor’s decision. 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. I anticipate releasing a more detailed statement soon once I have the chance to fully digest the Mayor’s remarks,” Armstrong said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: ‘We Find Ourselves In A Crisis’: Oakland Police Chief Criticizes City Council After Police Budget Slashed Amid Spike In Crime)
Darren Allison, who has been serving as acting chief of police since January, will continue to lead the Oakland Police Department, the outlet noted.