Search for Oakland Police Chief Delayed After Mayor Rejects List of Candidates

The new timeline will leave Oakland without a police chief for more than a year after the mayor fired LeRonne Armstrong in February 2023.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao announces the firing of Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong during a press conference at City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 15, 2023. Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group via AP

After Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao fired the city’s chief of police in 2023 and rejected a list of candidates recommended last month by the city’s police commission, a replacement to lead the Police Department is now delayed until at least March, according to a commission timeline.

In a Dec. 29 statement posted to social media platform X, Marsha Carpenter Peterson, commission chair, noted the need to restart the process following the mayor’s rejection.