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Oakland outlines plans to hire new police chief

Published  September 2, 2016 11:02am PDT
News
KTVU FOX 2

OAKLAND (KTVU) -- Mayor Libby Schaaf and other officials announced Monday that the city has hired a recruitment firm and will hold a series of community meetings as it looks to hire a permanent police chief and restore order to the department, which has been beset by a series of scandals in recent weeks.

The mayor, flanked by the city manager and several young people, announced the timeline Oakland will use as it tries to find its new top cop.

The timeline includes:

  • Holding 10 community meetings to gather public input.
  • Working with Ralph Anderson & Associates, a recruiting agency, to find qualified candidates. It's the same agency that the city of San Francisco is using to find its top police officer.
  • Making a selection by the end of this year with the new chief expected to start in January or February of 2017.
  • The city is also using an online survey to gather input about the search and the applicants. To submit your input, click here.

The Oakland Police Department suffered some embarrassing missteps this summer when the mayor abruptly announced in early June that former Chief Sean Whent had left his post.

That news was  followed by the appointment of Ben Fairow as interim police chief, who was relieved of his duties about a week later. 

Fairow was replaced by Paul Figueroa, who had previously been an assistant chief with the department.  Figueroa stepped down from the post about two days later, which prompted the mayor to place the department under civilian control while it sought to hire a permanent leader.

Oakland's police department has also been rocked by an ongoing investigation into racist text messages sent by police officers and continuing scrutiny of whether Oakland officers had sex with an underage prostitute.

During the press conference Monday, officials said at least two of the community meetings will focus on concerns raised by young people. Officials said they also hoped to have recruitment materials in a variety of languages.

List of community meetings:

  • Sep. 1 at 5P: Youth Community Forum at Castlemont HS Auditorium, 8601 MacArthur Blvd.
  • Sep. 7 at 6P: Community Policing Advisory Board Mtg - Eastmont Police Station, 2651 73rd Ave.
  • Sep. 8 at 6P: Citizen Police Review Board Meeting City Hall, City Council Chamber.
  • Sep. 10 at 12P: Youth Community Forum - McClymonds High School Cafeteria, 2607 Myrtle St.
  • Sep. 12 at 6P: Citywide Community Forum - N. Oakland Senior Ctr, 5714 MLK Jr. Way.
  • Sep. 21 at 4P: Chinatown Crime Prevention Council (Cantonese) Lincoln Rec Ctr, 250 10th St.
  • Sep. 21 at 6P: Citywide Community Forum East Oakland Senior Center, 9255 Edes Ave.
  • Sep. 26 at 6:30P: Safety and Services Oversight Committee City Hall, Hearing Room 1.
  • Sep. 27 at 6P: City Council Public Safety Committee City Hall.
  • Sep. 28 at 6P: Citywide Community Forum (Spanish) at Fruitvale Village, 3301 E. 12th St., #201.