{"id":18729,"date":"2017-01-05T04:53:37","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T04:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=18729"},"modified":"2017-01-05T04:53:37","modified_gmt":"2017-01-05T04:53:37","slug":"new-oakland-police-chief-anne-kirkpatrick-known-reformer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/new-oakland-police-chief-anne-kirkpatrick-known-reformer.html","title":{"rendered":"New Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick known as reformer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick known as reformer<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

New Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick known as reformer:-<\/strong> Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf\u2019s campaign to straighten out the city\u2019s Police Department culminated Wednesday with her introduction of a new chief whom some observers pegged as a consummate outsider: a Southern woman whose exuberance and folksy drawl belie the grave challenges ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019all are probably thinking, \u2018Where did that accent come from?\u2019\u201d Anne Kirkpatrick said during her introductory news conference, eliciting laughter in a room full of reporters and city officials. As the first woman to head Oakland\u2019s troubled department, Kirkpatrick embraced her outsider status. She offered a succinct version of her life story, from beat policing in her hometown of Memphis to helping institute a series of reforms in the Chicago Police Department, where she worked for six months before taking the Oakland job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Along the way, she established herself as a no-nonsense leader who has no qualms about angering the rank and file. Serving as the police chief in Spokane, Wash., Kirkpatrick had an officer arrested in 2011 after he allegedly threatened to kill his wife. The incident prompted a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city and Kirkpatrick, who resigned the following year. The officer was acquitted of wrongdoing and won his suit, according to media reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spokane\u2019s chief financial officer, Gavin Cooley, defended Kirkpatrick\u2019s handling of the case, saying she had made a principled decision based on right versus wrong \u2014 \u201cwhich doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be lawsuits.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore than most people, she comes at (her job) with a principle-based approach,\u201d Cooley said. \u201cShe has good old-fashioned values, and she thinks it\u2019s important to tell the truth. She\u2019s very up front about what\u2019s going on and she engages with the city organization and the citizens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her insistence on trust and accountability may have soured relationships in Spokane, but it most certainly won her points in Oakland. Voters in November overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure for a citizen-led police commission that will have broad powers to discipline officers and fire the chief if five of its seven members vote to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former Mayor Jean Quan hailed Kirkpatrick as a \u201cstrong reformer (and) community partner\u201d in a tweet posted Wednesday, saying the new chief had been a \u201cclose second\u201d in previous searches.Schaaf spoke in similarly glowing terms, calling Kirkpatrick \u201cthe reform-minded leader that Oakland has been searching for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In Chicago, Kirkpatrick took a job in June to lead the Police Department\u2019s reform efforts in the wake of a Justice Department probe resulting from the release of a police video in 2015 that showed a police officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014. As recently as two weeks ago, she told reporters in Chicago that the changes were expected to decrease violence and help community relations, according to the Chicago Tribune.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s department has for years cycled through chief after chief as city leaders struggled to reduce the city\u2019s homicide rate, boost morale among the rank and file, and get out from under federal court oversight, stemming from a 2003 civil rights settlement over four West Oakland police officers\u2019 alleged beatings, evidence planting and falsified reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite its troubles, the force appeared to be on an upswing in recent years. When Schaaf took office in 2015, she aligned herself with the city\u2019s well-liked chief at the time, Sean Whent, who won accolades from the White House for embracing a new style of community policing. The mayor also promised to bring the force to 800 officers by the end of 2018, a remarkable increase from 2010\u2019s low of 695 after a round of crippling layoffs.<\/span><\/p>\n

But that brief renaissance ended last year after a string of disciplinary cases that led up to a major sexual misconduct scandal in June, involving several Oakland police officers and their dealings with a sexually exploited teenager. Whent abruptly resigned, and two successors each lasted only days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Embarrassed and clearly angered by the negative publicity, Schaaf rebuked the department she had once applauded. \u201cI am here to run a police department, not a frat house,\u201d the mayor famously declared at a June news conference, at which she named assistant City Administrator Sabrina Landreth to oversee the force while Oakland searched for a new permanent police leader.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the wounds of the recent scandal still festering, several attendees at Wednesday\u2019s news conference asked whether Kirkpatrick\u2019s appointment signaled an end to Oakland\u2019s \u201cfrat house\u201d culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you even consider coming to this mess?\u201d one spectator asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t consider it a mess,\u201d Kirkpatrick parried. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Civil rights lawyer John Burris, who represented plaintiffs in the civil rights case that led to Oakland\u2019s 2003 settlement agreement, expressed optimism about Kirkpatrick, largely because she built her career in other cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is that she bring a fresh look, a fresh set of eyes here,\u201d Burris said. Nonetheless, he was skeptical about some aspects of Kirkpatrick\u2019s resume that set her apart from Oakland \u2014 namely, that she served as chief of several departments in Washington that bear little resemblance to the intricate, racially diverse East Bay city.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOakland is a challenging, complex place with a lot of unique issues,\u201d Burris said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful she understands that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/article\/New-Oakland-Police-Chief-Anne-Kirkpatrick-known-10835937.php<\/span><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t