Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong was fired a year ago after a federal monitor sniffed out some concerning disciplinary actions (or lack thereof) for police misconduct. Now, the former chief is fighting back with not his first but second legal claim in relation to his sudden termination.
The whole mess started from two police misconduct incidents. In 2021, OPD Sgt. Michael Chung failed to report that he hit a parked car with his police cruiser in San Francisco. The person in the car was actually another Oakland cop who was allegedly his friend, according to The Oaklandside. The following year, the same cop was accused of shooting at an elevator wall in the department’s headquarters and tried to cover it up by throwing the bullet’s shell casing over the Bay Bridge, the report said.
A third-party investigation led by federal monitor Robert Warshaw found the internal affairs department didn’t discipline Chung according to procedures, per KTVU. Armstrong’s lawsuit claimed this finding caused Warshaw to drag him into the mess, accusing him of not making sure the officer was disciplined appropriately. Mayor Sheng Thao then placed Armstrong on leave following the report.
Armstrong clapped back at a rally on Jan. 23, 2023, demanding in front of the crowd of people that he be reinstated and blasting Warshaw as having no-good, money-hungry intentions behind destroying his credibility.
Soon after that, the mayor fired him. However, according to Armstrong’s lawsuit, he got the green light from the mayor to say what he said.
Read more from his lawsuit:
Remarkably, after retaliating against Armstrong by terminating him, Mayor Thao admitted her decision to terminate Chief Armstrong was retaliatory in nature. Mayor Thao stated that she terminated Chief Armstrong not because of his performance or problems with the way Chief Armstrong handled the incidents under investigation, but because Chief Armstrong spoke out and criticized Warshaw.
In sum, the Mayor is on record numerous times explaining that she fired Chief Armstrong because Chief Armstrong pointed out that Warshaw’s criticisms of the Chief were factually baseless and were the latest instance of Warshaw destabilizing OPD leadership for Warshaw’s personal benefit.
This is an unusual wrongful termination case. The City’s sole decision-maker (Mayor Thao) has repeatedly and publicly explained her reasons for the unlawful termination – and those reasons are illegal and retaliatory on their face. The City and its agents violated the California Labor Code and Chief Armstrong’s federal constitutional rights.
In his first legal claim regarding the incident, Armstrong claimed that he was retaliated against and his First Amendment rights were violated.
Now, Armstrong alleges that Oakland’s mayor and Warshaw preyed upon his downfall. In addition to seeking monetary damages, Armstrong also wants to be reinstated to his position as Oakland Police Chief. Right now, interim Chief Darren Allison is leading the department, The Oaklandside reports.