{"id":392657,"date":"2026-07-09T23:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T23:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/392657\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T23:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T23:10:14","slug":"oakland-chooses-james-beere-to-serve-as-permanent-police-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/392657\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland Chooses James Beere to Serve as Permanent Police Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 30-year veteran officer, Beere promised to maintain the many reforms instituted after past misconduct and corruption scandals. \n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

James Beere, then-Assistant Chief of Police with the Oakland Police Department, speaks at a press conference at Oakland City Hall on Oct. 23, 2025.\u00a0(Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s appointment is about more than selecting a police chief \u2014 it is about renewing our commitment to the people of Oakland,\u201d Lee said in a statement. \u201cJames Beere embraces meaningful civilian oversight and constitutional policing, values collaboration with our neighborhoods, businesses, and faith leaders, and is fully prepared to lead on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous public safety leaders have come under sharp scrutiny for major corruption scandals<\/a> and concerns over crime<\/a>, but the new chief is stepping into the official role with widespread support.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aNot a lot of people agree on many things in Oakland, but we all agree on Beere,\u201d City Council President Kevin Jenkins said.<\/p>\n

\"\"An Oakland Police Department squad car in downtown Oakland on April 28, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Beere joined the Oakland Police Department in 1997 and has worked key roles in vice and narcotics before rising to sergeant in crime reduction and intelligence units. He commanded the force\u2019s criminal investigations division before serving as former assistant chief of police.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Zac Unger praised Beere for being \u201cinstrumental\u201d to Oakland\u2019s declining crime rates and supporting the city\u2019s Operation Ceasefire<\/a> gun violence prevention initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a stable pick. He has the trust of the community. He has the trust of our police officers. And I think he is the right person to lead us into the next phase of OPD,\u201d Unger said.<\/p>\n

Lee selected Beere from four candidates after a recruitment process led by the city\u2019s police commission and retired Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn.<\/p>\n

Beere said that he doesn\u2019t expect much to change now that his position is permanent and will continue to focus on reducing crime, recruiting new officers and constitutional policing.<\/p>\n

He also promised to maintain the many reforms instituted since a police misconduct scandal<\/a> shook community trust in 2000. More than 100 people sued OPD, accusing a group of officers known as the \u201cRiders\u201d of beating, kidnapping and planting drugs on them.<\/p>\n

The department agreed to a negotiated settlement agreement in 2003, which included coming into compliance with 51 tasks to reshape the department\u2019s culture and policy under federal oversight.<\/p>\n

In May, a court monitor found that the department had reached full compliance, and OPD is set for a hearing where it could regain independence in the fall.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI\u2019ve seen the worst, but I\u2019ve also seen the best,\u201d Beere said. \u201cI\u2019m a product of the negotiated settlement agreement. And if we are taken out of court oversight in September, the negotiated settlement agreement\u2019s not going away.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the reforms are \u201c\u200astitched into the fabric\u201d of the department.<\/p>\n

John Burris, an attorney who brought that case and spent decades overseeing OPD\u2019s progress toward achieving the reforms, said that as a veteran of the department, Beere understands the reforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we have confidence that when crises do happen and do occur, which they will, he will handle them in a manner that\u2019s consistent with the general orders that are applicable,\u201d Burris said. \u201cNot show a kind of favoritism and make decisions based upon his relationship with various officers, as opposed to following the rules that have been laid out by the NSA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beere\u2019s appointment still needs to be approved by the city council, which is expected July 17.<\/p>\n

KQED\u2019s Desmond Meagley<\/a> contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 30-year veteran officer, Beere promised to maintain the many reforms instituted after past misconduct and corruption scandals.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-392657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}