Oakland and Atlanta (exclusive to Zennie62Media – ZennieReport.com) – The recently released “Statement From Dr. Tyfahra Milele, Chair of the Oakland Police Commission” leads this Oakland Blogger to come to one conclusion: the Oakland Police Commission should call for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao to reinstate Oakland Police Chief LaRonne Armstrong. There are a number of reasons why this idea is the best one the Oakland Police Commission should act on.
And, by the way, here’s the Zennie62Media / Zennie62 YouTube 2021 interview with Oakland Police Chief Armstrong:
The LaRonne Armstrong Reinstatement Call Would Stop Oakland Mayor Thao’s Political Games
Dr. Tyfahra Milele
First, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has shown a penchant for playing political public relations games that give her reasons to avoid taking action the community calls for. Take the very first paragraph by Oakland Police Commission’s Dr. Milele as evidence. Dr. Milele writes:
“The Commission appreciates the sentiments expressed by the NAACP on how the mayor could address public safety. We are also deeply disappointed in the mayor’s purposeful deflection of the NAACP and community’s concerns by casting blame on the Commission for the lack of a police chief, which was brought about by the mayor herself. The mayor called the community’s demand for a state of emergency due to the rise in crime “political theater,” and instead, the mayor threatened to call a state of emergency on the Commission if it did not give the mayor a list of candidates by the end of the year. In fact, the mayor’s threat on the Commission IS the “political theater.”
The Commission has been publicly updating the community about the hiring timeline, and the timeline is posted on the Commission’s website. The timeline clearly states that the Commission anticipates sending a list of finalists to the mayor next month. We are perplexed by the mayor’s comments to the press as we also updated the mayor and her office on the hiring timeline last week and her office confirmed receipt.
The mayor created this crisis and liability by dismissing the former police chief after an outside investigation report by a San Francisco firm that had questionable quality, sufficiency, and credibility in its analysis and findings. The mayor dismissed the former chief without a plan and pre-empted the Commission’s ability to review the investigation report.
After the chief’s dismissal, the mayor refused to meet with the Commission leadership for two months and the city only gave the Commission a list of search consultants in May. Instead of providing immediate support and resources for the Commission to do its work, the mayor removed a retired superior court judge – one of seven Regular Commissioners – and severely shorthanded the already small commission of unpaid volunteers.From Oakland Police Commission Press Release of September 12, 2023
Nonetheless, the Commission continues to do its due diligence, conducting 5 public forums throughout the city and virtually where it received critical feedback from more than 350 Oaklanders on what they look for in a police chief. Pursuant to the City Charter, we anticipate providing the mayor with a list of finalists next month for her to make the final selection.
The Oakland Police Commission Should Reverse LaRonne Armstrong’s Firing As There’s No City Charter Legislation Stopping It From Doing So
The Oakland Police Commissioner has basically laid out the reasons why Chief Armstrong should be brought back. The first one, not mentioned, is that Chief Armstrong’s termination was not for being a bad cop. That removes the only legislation that could be used to keep Chief Armstrong from being re-hired.
Also, re-hiring Chief Armstrong would eliminate his lawsuit for wrongful termination, and save the City of Oakland a long and embarrassing court session. It would also restore Oakland public faith and trust in government.
Plus, it just might save Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s job, since she’s on the way toward an eventual recall election as of this writing.