Fremont's new police chief Floyd Mitchell starts next week

FREMONT, Calif. - Former Oakland police head Floyd Mitchell begins his new job as Fremont’s police chief on Monday.

As first reported by KTVU last month, the city of Fremont chose Mitchell following a nationwide search.

"Floyd Mitchell brings more than three decades of law enforcement experience to Fremont and a well earned reputation for steady, thoughtful leadership," said City Manager Karena Shackelford. "Having strong experience as police chief in prior agencies, he has demonstrated time and again his integrity, accountability, and fairness."

Mitchell left the Oakland Police Department on Dec. 5, 2025, after 18 months on the job.

Departure from Oakland

What we know:

Mitchell did not publicly state why he left Oakland. However, observers noted he was hired before Mayor Barbara Lee took office and had regularly expressed frustration with more than two decades of federal oversight of the Oakland Police Department.

"The police oversight in Oakland doesn't exist in Fremont," said civil rights attorney Jim Chanin, who spearheaded the oversight in Oakland more than 20 years ago. "He was very clear he didn't like all the oversight. He didn't want to be here and I'm glad he's gone." 

Mitchell was hired in March 2024 by then-Mayor Sheng Thao, who was later ousted. Thao fired former Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong as one of her first acts in office.

Before coming to the Bay Area, Mitchell led the Lubbock, Texas, Police Department from 2019 until September 2023. He left that position after the department was criticized for an increasing number of unanswered 911 calls. He previously spent 25 years as a police officer in Kansas City, Missouri.

Transition in Fremont

What's next:

Mitchell will replace interim Chief Sean Washington. Washington’s base pay is nearly $370,000 a year, roughly the same as Mitchell’s salary as Oakland’s chief.

Washington announced in June that he planned to retire in August from the Fremont Police Department, where he worked for 30 years. He has been serving as interim chief while the city manager conducted the search for a permanent replacement.

Fremont operates under a council-manager form of government, in which the city manager appoints the police chief.

Fremont is the Bay Area’s fourth-largest city — larger than Oakland — but does not have federal oversight, a civilian police commission with authority to hire or fire a chief, and has a significantly lower crime rate.