New Details on Suspension of Oakland Police Chief Leron Armstrong Ahead of Commission Meeting

OAKLAND, CA (KGO) — Only a few days remain before the meeting of the Oakland Police Commission, which will discuss the future of police chief Leron Armstrong, who is on paid administrative leave.

As we get closer to this meeting, we will learn new information about the investigation of offenses involving the officer involved in the traffic accident. Ultimately, attention was drawn to how the chief handled the case.

All eyes remain on Oakland Police Chief Leron Armstrong, who is currently receiving a check but out of work after Mayor Sheng Tao put him on leave for “dereliction of duty.” This is for his consideration of misconduct allegations involving one of his officers in 2021.

New documents detail an accident involving an Oakland sergeant. Michael Chang. An investigation by a law firm gave a background story to this crash, stating, “Surveillance video also shows that immediately after the collision, Sergeant Chang stopped the vehicle for four to five seconds.”

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Going on to say that Officer Chang was in the car with another Auckland officer with whom he was romantically involved. A previously hidden report states, “Neither Chang nor Officer Brandwood got out of the vehicle. Instead, the video shows the car driving away from the scene of the collision.”

Sgt. Chang was later interviewed about the incident, but said it happened four to five months ago and he doesn’t remember details such as seat belt use, radio volume, or who was with him, according to documents.

Chief Armstrong’s reaction to this incident and the one where Sgt. Chang fired his gun at OPD headquarters and was interrogated.

In evaluating the superior’s credibility, “The investigators did not consider the superior, Leron Armstrong, to be credible” because he knew information that was not discussed at the meeting, which states:

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“… shows that he participated in discussions with other commanders about the facts of the case prior to the presentation and his own testimony, which showed that he was aware of some specific facts that were not raised at the meeting on December 23, 2021.”

The chief responded to all of these allegations when we spoke to him on Friday.

“This is clearly an inaccurate statement. I made my statement to the investigators, we have this recorded statement, we also read these reports, and we know that no one in the investigation said that they advised me on this particular case, ”Armstrong said.

The purpose of the confidential report is to recommend findings about whether the officers under investigation have committed misconduct.

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Will Edelman, attorney for Chief Leron Armstrong, issued a statement Monday night:

The conclusion of the report is crystal clear: two potential violations that were investigated against Chief Armstrong were found to be “unsubstantiated” and “unconfirmed.”

In other words, the report positively confirms that the boss has done his or her job. This is not surprising, since the authors of the report admit that the chief was “barred” from this investigation relatively early, when outside investigators took over. It is none of his business, and the report adequately confirms that he could not have mishandled an investigation for which he was not responsible.

The chief’s role in the investigation was extremely limited, but for unclear reasons, the report’s authors go to great lengths to undermine his credibility, even after he concluded that he had committed no wrongdoing. Indeed, the report usually offers a few sentences or paragraphs about the credibility of each witness, but for inexplicable reasons it devotes an entire page to discussing the chief’s credibility.

The report theory of the leader’s “credibility” is inherently controversial. The authors criticize the boss for “minimizing” his knowledge of the investigation – but that’s exactly what he was ordered to do when he was “fenced off by a wall.”

It is important to note that on page 52 of the confidential report, the recommended conclusions “Regarding Chief LeRonn Armstrong” list three sections. Commanders – Powers / Responsibilities; Performing the duties of a general; and reports of violations of laws, regulations, rules or orders. Investigators found persistent arguments in relation to commanders and the performance of official duties. Reports of violations of laws, regulations, rules or orders have been removed.

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