Bay Area

Oakland NAACP Calls on Oakland Mayor to Rehire Former OPD Chief LeRonne Armstrong

The arbitration hearing conducted by retired federal judge Maria Rivera has issued a 54-page opinion, which the Oakland NAACP says has found that the “investigation which formed the basis for his initial termination was unreliable.”

Published

1 year ago

October 4, 2023

Oakland Post

Former OPD Chief LeRonne Armstrong was fired by Mayor Sheng Thao in February. File photo. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said her decision to fire the police chief was difficult but necessary. File photo.

Mayor reiterates that chief was fired for “knee-jerk” response to criticisms and “poor judgment”

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland NAACP has issued a statement calling on Mayor Sheng Thao to rehire fired Oakland Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong, citing a non-binding arbitrator’s report that is not publicly available, though some people have obtained the leaked document.

However, in a statement issued this week, Mayor Thao stood by her decision to fire the former chief, saying he was terminated not for failing to punish an officer guilty for misconduct but because Armstrong responded to criticisms of how he handled the officer’s misconduct by denouncing the significance of the misconduct and protesting federal court oversight of OPD.

Rivera wrote in her report that “the discipline imposed on Chief Armstrong should be reversed and removed from his personnel record,” the NACCP alleged in a press statement about the arbitration report, which is considered a personnel matter and not available to the public.

“This was a complete vindication of Chief Armstrong that established he had done nothing to warrant his termination,” wrote the Oakland NAACP, which has been in the forefront of public pressure defending the chief.

Judge Rivera further said *the parties should meet and confer, together with their counsel, to discuss the viability of resolving the dispute in a manner to be negotiated, including the possibility of reinstatement,” the NAACP press release said.

“Too much time has been wasted playing politics, while Oaklanders are terrorized by violence and the crimes they face daily and businesses are driven from the city,” said Cynthia Adams, Oakland NAACP president.

In her statement, Thao said, ““At the beginning of this year, I was faced with the difficult decision of how Oakland and our police department could ensure our commitment to accountability and reform in light of a troubling report illustrating failures within our disciplinary process.”

Continuing, she said, “I placed then-Chief Armstrong on administrative leave so that I could take careful consideration of the best path forward. During that period, I was troubled by then-Chief Armstrong’s many statements indicating that he saw no need for deep reflection or change within the department.”

When faced with the case of an officer who was involved in a hit-and-run accident and failed to report it, and “whether OPD failed to rigorously investigate it,” Chief Armstrong “immediately dismissed the allegations as ‘mistakes and not systematic problems, ‘and insisted the officer had already been held accountable, Mayor Thao said.

“My decision was based on Mr. Armstrong’s knee-jerk response to the outside investigator’s report and the poor judgment it revealed, not on the report itself,” the mayor said.

“That lack of leadership led me to lose confidence in his commitment to reform, and his ability to serve Oakland as a credible messenger and partner to the federal court and federal monitor in finally ending 20 years of oversight,” she said.

“Mr. Armstrong had a right under state law to object to his termination and have a neutral hearing officer make non-binding recommendations to the City,” according to Mayor Thao.

“While I similarly cannot publicly discuss the hearing officer’s findings, since they are personnel records, I will say that there was no recommendation that I reverse my decision to move the department forward under new leadership… Neither my administration nor the federal court agreed with Mr. Armstrong that the findings could be written off as ‘mistakes,’” she said.

A news story from KQED, which examined the arbitrator’s report, said that the arbitrator found that the original investigation that led to Armstrong’s suspension early this year for mishandling a police officer’s misconduct case had many inaccuracies and urged Mayor Thao to meet with Armstrong to discuss the possibility of reinstatement.”

“It would be wise for both parties, and of great benefit to the citizens of Oakland, to avoid the costs and related toll of protracted litigation,” the arbitrator wrote.

However, the arbitrator’s report did not go as far as calling for Armstrong to be reinstated. The report also rejected Armstrong’s claim he was fired because he was a whistleblower and found no evidence to back up the former chief’s claim that the federal monitor was improperly raising issues to extend the federal court’s oversight of OPD to enrich himself at the city’s expense.

The arbitrator also “did not fully endorse Armstrong’s claims that he was fired for exercising his First Amendment rights,” according to KQED.

KQED also said that under the Oakland City Charter, Mayor Thao does not have the authority to rehire a police chief. “Instead, the chief must go through the police commission’s hiring process,” according to KQED.

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Homelessness Committee and Advocates Urge City to Stop Confiscating Unhoused People’s Belongings

Encampment sweeps are not a new method of action to evict people from living and sleeping on the streets in San Francisco. However, recent reports indicate that city staff are not following proper policy, exacerbating the problems for unhoused people. Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.

Published

1 week ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

"By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness," Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.

By Magaly Muñoz

Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.

“By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.

Friedenbach criticized the city for not fixing their housing problem or finding new ways to shelter people, instead they are further adding to the harm of the “humanitarian crisis that San Francisco is facing.”

The press conference was held before the monthly Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC) meeting, where commissioners discussed a draft resolution to submit to city staff highlighting the importance of not separating people from their items as this might cause further distress.

The resolution lists ssential items that workers should be cautious of not destroying or throwing away including medical documents and medication, work permits, identification, and survival gear, such as blankets or tents.

City policy instructs workers to “bag and tag” items left behind after an encampment sweep. These items are labeled by Public Works and kept at their operations yard for 90 days before being discarded.

But according to several reports and videos of the sweeps, the city has not always followed this policy and has on numerous occasions thrown away people’s medications or tents, leaving individuals without their essentials.

During the meeting, commissioners suggested adding school records and family related support items, such as diapers, to the resolution because of the increasing number of families living on the streets.

Virginia Taylor, senior policy advisor for Safe & Sound, said 531 families are waiting for housing in San Francisco. Many of these families are living out of their cars or in RVs, yet the city has limited safe parking spots where people can situate themselves.

Along with not throwing out people’s belongings, advocates are also continuing to ask the city to stop the encampment sweeps because all they are accomplishing is moving unhoused folks block to block without solving the root problem of lack of consistent housing.

“We need urgent action, more family shelter beds, a stop to vehicle sweeps, expanded safe parking programs and housing solutions that keep our multi-generational families together. Our children’s futures depend on it. Let’s build a San Francisco where no family falls through the crack and every child has the opportunity to thrive,” Taylor said.

Speakers referenced the RV sweep conducted in early August on Zoo Road, where dozens of people, many of them non-English speaking immigrants, were asked to leave the parking lot or else their vehicles would be towed and they would be cited.

While people were offered shelter beds or housing vouchers, some worried about where they would stay while the city processed their applications. This drew criticism of San Francisco’s method of not always having immediate options for people yet continuing to sweep unhoused folks with nowhere to go.

Commissioners of HOC agreed that the city is not trying to exacerbate the issue and the resolution is one of many steps to ensure that there are no setbacks in the progress to ending homelessness in San Francisco.

The HOC will approve the resolution at a later meeting once amendments and changes are made.

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Bay Area

Former Mayor Willie L. Brown Endorses Dana Lang for BART Board District 7

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island. Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Published

1 week ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of Dana Lang.

By Oakland Post Staff

Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

“When I met with Dana Lang I asked many questions, then I asked others about her contributions. Getting to know her I realized that she truly understood transportation. At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is more than ready for this job, she is ready to meet the moment!”

Over the past 24 years Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto, CA, and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting transit riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs.

With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to serve as a transportation grants specialist.

During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality — and bringing riders back to BART. She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, Alameda County supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes San Francisco’s Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island, a large portion of Oakland, the cities of Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley.

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Art

Phenomenal Woman’ Maya Angelou Monument Unveiled at San Francisco Main Library

In a joyful community celebration attended by over 200 people, including Mayor London Breed, the highly anticipated ‘Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman’ monument to Dr. Maya Angelou was unveiled at the San Francisco Main Library on Sept. 19. Oakland-based artist Lava Thomas created the 9-foot bronze and stone monument in the form of a book featuring a portrait and quotes from the celebrated author, poet, civil rights activist and former San Francisco resident.

Published

1 week ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Attending the unveiling of the monument to the late Dr. Maya Angelou were, from left, Dr. Gina M. Fromer, CEO Glide Foundation; San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Rosa Johnson, (Angelou’s niece); Ralph Remington, San Francisco director of Cultural Affairs; Lava Thomas, artist and creator; Denise Bradley-Tydus, former interim director of Cultural Affairs; San Francisco Poet Laureate Genny Lim, and San Francisco City Librarian Michael Lambert. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

Oakland-based artist Lava Thomas created the 9-foot bronze and stone monument in the form of a book featuring a portrait and quotes from the celebrated author, poet, civil rights activist and former San Francisco resident.

The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission in response to legislation passed in 2018 by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, requiring at least 30% female representation in the public realm.

Attending the unveiling were Angelou’s grandson, Elliott Jones, social advocate, philanthropist, and board member of the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation; and Rosa Johnson, Angelou’s niece and family archivist, who spoke about the historic unveiling of this first public monument portraying a Black woman in San Francisco’s history.