Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf introduced the fourth leader of the embattled department in just eight days.
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Mayor Libby Schaaf said acting Police Chief Paul Figueroa was on the job for two days before stepping down but said his decision was not connected to the two scandals.
“I believe that the leadership at this time is critical in order to build confidence that the culture of this department does not tolerate unethical behavior, sexual misconduct or lying”, Schaff said when she announced Fairow’s ouster and the appointment of Paul Figueroa as interim chief.
“As the mayor of Oakland, I’m here to run a police department, not a frat house”, Schaaf said at a news conference Friday evening. “I thank the city for the opportunity and I am deeply sorry that I was unable to fulfill the functions of Acting Chief of Police”.
City Administrator Sabrina Landreth, who previously served as Emeryville’s city manager, will temporarily take over control of the department, Schaaf said. “We are dealing with disgusting allegations that upset me greatly”, said Schaaf.
The city is already grappling with an internal investigation involving an underage sex worker and her suspected interactions with multiple Oakland police officers and sworn personnel from several other law enforcement agencies.
Before Whent’s resignation, it was revealed officer Brendan O’Brien (left) killed himself during the sex scandal investigation.
One officer is now on leave in that investigation, she said.
The East Bay Express, which has led coverage of Oakland Police Department’s sordid controversies, reported that an OPD homicide investigator had become the subject of a criminal investigation for allegedly sharing confidential details of murder cases.
When Figueroa returns, she said, he would do so under the rank of captain for the department.
Whent resigned on June 9, in what city officials termed a “personal choice”.
This comes after a federal judge ordered Oakland Police Department Thursday to work with their federal monitor to review and reform the department’s hiring and recruiting and early warning system for officers amid the sex scandal.
But in recent weeks, that growing sense of trust and progress has been shattered amid a storm of revelations in a sexual-misconduct scandal that some say is even more alarming than the 2000 Riders case that resulted in federal oversight of the department. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article. She said they are not acceptable from anyone wearing a badge.
KRON 4 reports that the now 18-year-old dispatcher’s daughter being referred to in the press as Celeste Guap claims to have had sex with “like 2 [officers] from SF”, one of whom was a former OPD officer, though in both cases after she came of age. Please see our terms of service for more information.
It was unclear if Fairow’s removal as interim chief was linked to the sex scandal, but on Wednesday, BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey released his own statement saying Fairow would be welcomed back to his role commanding BART’s Support Services Division.
The cloud that had hung over the Oakland Police Department in the years since the infamous Riders police-brutality scandal appeared finally to be parting.
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The Oakland department is now reeling from allegations that officers were having inappropriate relationships with a teenage sex worker, possibly while she was underage. In total, she says she slept with two dozen current and former cops from five different departments.
