OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland City Council’s Public Safety Committee met Tuesday for the first time since Police Chief Floyd Mitchell announced last Monday that he is stepping down on December 5.
“I want to acknowledge the pretty enormous news last week that the Police Chief Floyd Mitchell has resigned from the department,” City Council member Charlene Wang, who serves as Chair of the Public Safety Committee, said.
No police chief, again
Now, a week later, Oakland city officials are wrestling with the question of how soon an interim chief and a new permanent chief will be named.
The Oakland City Administrator’s office said Tuesday that a recruitment announcement has not yet been issued, and so far, there have been no firm dates set for a timeline to select a new chief.
Wang said something must change. Oakland has had a revolving door of police chiefs over the past 15 years, and Wang says the city is falling short of the average tenure, according a national police executive research firm.
“Apparently, the average tenure is 7 years for a police chief and we are far below that average, so I think we definitely have some work to do to really reform and understand what is undergirding our issues here because our residents deserve stability,” Wang said.
Struggling to emerge from oversightÂ
Wang also has concerns about the police department as it struggles to emerge from federal oversight.
“I am nervous how this upcoming December hearing will go given he is resigning before that hearing,” Wang said.
Other council members say they are concerned about the time it will take to get a new chief in place.
“If I was mayor and city administrator, I would make this move fast. I probably wouldn’t even give him that time to leave in December. I’d tell him to leave now and get someone in his place,” Ken Houston, a city council member and member of the Oakland City Council Public Safety Committee, said.
“My biggest hope is that we can get a new chief in place quickly and with a minimum of fuss. It’s really important that we have a permanent chief.” Oakland City Council member Zac Unger said.
Mayor’s role and involvement
According to the police commission rules, the mayor is responsible for appointing an interim chief immediately.
The mayor’s office says Mayor Barbara Lee met with Mitchell on Tuesday, October 14, and has been having ongoing conversations with him about candidates, but they have no timeline yet for appointing an interim police chief.
The police commission is in charge of presenting candidates for the permanent police chief to the mayor.
The mayor’s office says staff met Tuesday with the police commission, and says Mayor Lee has had conversations with the commission chair since Chief Mitchell’s resignation announcement last week.
So far, the city administrator and commission have not laid out a timeline for the nomination process, and did not respond to KTVU’s question about whether they plan to hire a national search firm as they did the last time.
Is the chief applying for a job elsewhere?Â
“I want to hire people that are already trained and groomed here in the city. So I don’t have to tell them where Fruitvale Avenue is. So I don’t have to tell them what the attitude of the council is and all the rules and regulations that need to be in place,” Oakland City Council member Noel Gallo said.
Gallo said he recently received calls from another jurisdiction asking for reference information regarding Oakland Police Chief Mitchell’s application for a job elsewhere.
Some Oakland residents say they want the next chief to be someone who understands the community.
“I think I would hope for someone with a track record of working with communities,” Viktoria, an Oakland resident said.
“Cleaner and safer streets, that’s always what’s important to me,” Anisah Adams of Oakland said.
“If you want to punch above your weight, you have to look for talent that’s already above your weight. That’s what I would request for the leadership to do,” Oakland entrepreneur Bab Afolabi said, adding that he feels a candidate from Oakland or another a big city who can deal with big city problems would be his preference for the next chief.
“Let’s look within first. You have some good brothers and sisters already here in Oakland. Let’s promote within,” Tyranny Allen, an Oakland business owner, said.
The police commission’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 23.Â
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Timeline: History of Oakland police chiefs
Oakland has had many police chiefs over the years, in part to scandals, and in part, due to the department’s cumbersome bureaucracy, including federal oversight and a powerful, civilian-led police commission.