Oakland to fire 4 officers, suspend 7 over sex scandal
OAKLAND (KTVU) -- Mayor Libby Schaaf announced Wednesday that four Oakland police officers will be fired after a city investigation indicated the officers had sexual relations with an underage sex worker and attempted to cover it up.
It was the latest twist in a series of events that have rocked the Oakland police department and its officers. The mayor said in addition to the terminations, another seven police officers will be suspended without pay, and another officer will be required to undergo additional training.
The Mayor said the 12 officers were given notices of the city's intent on Wednesday afternoon. Another investigation by the Alameda County District Attorney's office is expected to determine whether there will be any criminal charges filed against the officers.
Schaaf said that by law, the city is not able to name the twelve officers being disciplined.
"I am deeply sorry for the harm this scandal has caused particularly to community trust," she said at a news conference Wednesday.
The mayor and city administrator said the punishments were handed out after a year-long investigation into police misconduct involving a girl who was underage at the time and goes by the name of Celeste Guap.
The teenager claims she had sexual relations with two dozen current and former officers in several Bay Area departments that include Oakland, Richmond, Livermore, the Alameda County Sheriff's Department and the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office.
Guap was a Richmond resident and the daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher and has claimed that she had inappropriate sexual contact with at least three officers before she turned 18 last year.
The Oakland investigation indicated that the four Oakland officers fired committed violations including: attempted sexual assault, engaging in lewd conduct in public, assisting in the crime of prostitution, assisting in evading arrest for prostitution, accessing law enforcement databases for personal gain, being untruthful to investigators, failure to report allegations of a minor having sex with officers and bringing disrepute to the Oakland police department.
"To the victims of sexual abuse and exploitation in our city we see you. We hear you. And we are here to help," Schaaf said. "To those who exploit and profit and take pleasure in their pain, we see you too."
Oakland Police Deputy Chief John Lois said the investigation included more than 20 hours of interviews with Guap, as well as interviews with 50 witnesses as investigators looked into the allegations.
"The investigative team examined approximately 80,000 pages of social media documents and 28,000 text messages," Lois said, "All the involved officers' supervisors were evaluated for patterns of knowledge or failure to take action."
Several city council members attended the news conference including Lynette Gibson-McElhaney, Oakland City Council President and Council member Larry Reid.
"It's shocking. It's shocking the number of officers who were engaged and who had sustained findings in a very rigorous investigation," said Gibson-McElhaney.
Oakland attorney John Burris, whose corruption case against the police department led to federal oversight, says California's Attorney General should investigate whether to file criminal charges.
"They should be prosecuted. We are talking about men who are police officers having sex with a minor," Burris said.
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. According to a Martin County sheriff's office report, the woman ran from the rehab facility, removed her shirt, and flashed passing cars.
A security officer convinced her to return to the facility, where the report says Guap became violent, biting one of the security guards on his arm. Once under arrest, the report says Guap was in the backseat of a patrol car and began beating her head against the car window and had to be restrained further to prevent her from hurting herself.
It was not immediately clear if she had posted the $300,000 bail in order to be released.
A website for attorney Pamela Price of Oakland was posted saying she and attorney Charles Bonner of Sausalito plan to represent Ms. Guap.
KTVU reporter Jana Katsuyama contributed to this report.
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