Figueroa had been appointed to replace Interim Chief Ben Fairow on Wednesday after the mayor said she received negative information about his ability to run the department.
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On Friday, Oakland lost its third police chief in nine days as more than a dozen police officers continue to be investigated for alleged sexual relations with an underage prostitute.
“As mayor, I need to have absolute confidence that the leader of this department can be 100% effective at leading cultural change based on the current allegations that we take extremely seriously”, she said during a news conference at City Hall. Schaaf says she is not appointing another acting police chief and says it is more appropriate to have civilian oversight at this point. Now there will be no Oakland police chief.
No reason was given for Figueroa’s resignation, but it came in light of an announcement by the mayor of a new internal investigation involving racist text messages and emails among officers. In a statement released Friday, Figueroa said, “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”.
In the meantime, the city administrator will lead the police department.
Meanwhile, Figueroa is now on leave and has asked to return as a captain, according to Schaaf.
What about these text messages?
In addition to these two ongoing disgraces, the beleaguered police force is also under federal oversight for failing to discipline officers who planted evidence and robbed residents of the predominantly black area of West Oakland.
When he killed himself, O’Brien left a suicide note that implicated himself along with other police officers in a vast sexual misconduct ring involving an underage girl.
She would not name the officers or disclose their ranks, but the situation is similar to a scandal that recently roiled the San Francisco Police Department, one of several that led to the resignation of Police Chief Greg Suhr.
Schaaf said the investigation of the text messages would be completed within two weeks. She had appointed Fairow after Chief Sean Whent suddenly resigned June 9. According to KPIX?TV, Mayor Schaaf condemned the officers who were “engaging in hate speech”, as well as those who were “tolerating it” by not stepping forward and reporting those officers sending the hateful messages. Two officers have resigned and three have been placed on leave due to the scandal.
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“It appears to be a cesspool here”, he said.
