Oakland will move to fire four of its police officers and discipline another seven for their involvement in the alleged sexual exploitation of a woman, officials announced today.
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At a hastily planned news conference on Wednesday evening at Oakland’s city hall, mayor Libby Schaaf said she was barred by law from naming the officers who have been disciplined. Schaaf said the action taken by the city “sends a loud and clear message that we hold our officers to nothing but the highest standards of professionalism and integrity”. A third killed himself past year. Woman at center of OPD sex scandal in Fla. jailThe Internal Affairs Division of the Oakland Police Department conducted over 20 hours of interviews with Guap during the investigation.
Seven officers were also recommended for suspensions, without pay, for failing to report violations of law, failing to report allegations of a police officer having sexual contact with a minor, accessing the department’s criminal database for personal use, and bringing disrepute to the department. It’s unclear if any of the officers were represented by lawyers.
The offenses include attempted sexual assault, lewd conduct in public, assisting in the crime of prostitution, assisting in evading arrest, and being untruthful to investigators, Landreth said. News stories displayed here appear in our category for US Headlines and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization.
The allegations have sparked internal investigations in police departments, sheriff offices, and district attorney offices across the Bay Area, as well as a criminal probe by prosecutors.
Guap, which is not her real name, was sent to a Florida rehab center in late August but was arrested on Aug. 29 for aggravated battery.
“We are being very sensitive to the young woman who has been exploited and been hurt”, O’Malley said on August 9 when activists arrived unannounced at her office and demanded officers be charged criminally. “I want to thank the residents of Oakland and the dedicated men and women of the police department for their patience as we’ve conducted this investigation.we care deeply about this community and its officers and believe that the outcomes in this case will root out misconduct, encourage a culture of transparency and continue the work of restoring trust”. No officers have been charged as yet, but several have resigned or been placed on leave. In June, the department cycled through three chiefs in 10 days after the teen’s allegations were first reported in the media.
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A total of at least 14 officers in Oakland as well as eight from other nearby law enforcement agencies are accused of taking advantage of the teenager.
