Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell announces his resignation less than 2 years into the job

By Carlos E. Castañeda

Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell is stepping down from his position less than two years after taking the reins of a department under scrutiny and with a recent history of reform attempts.

A press statement from the City of Oakland stated that Mitchell submitted a letter of intent to resign, effective December 5. The statement added that Mitchell had committed to working closely with Mayor Barbara Lee and City Administrator Jestin Johnson to identify an interim police chief to ensure a seamless transition.

“It has been an honor to serve the Oakland community, and I am grateful for the support I’ve received from the residents,” Mitchell said in a prepared statement. “I’m incredibly proud of the men and women of this Department and the collaborative working relationships forged with the community and business owners to reduce crime. My commitment over the weeks ahead is to help ensure a smooth transition and continue to keep Oakland safe.”

The statement did not provide a reason why Mitchell was announcing his departure 17 months after being appointed by former Mayor Sheng Thao, who was recalled by voters in November 2024. Mitchell, who took over for LeRonne Armstrong more than a year after Thao fired Armstrong, is the department’s sixth police chief in the past five years. 

Mitchell’s resignation announcement comes a day after Lee delivered her first State of the City Address, in which she touted progress in reducing crime and said the city “is on the move.” 

“I want to thank Chief Mitchell for his dedicated service to Oakland and his leadership during a critical time for our city,” Lee said in a prepared statement. “Under his tenure, we have seen significant reductions in crime – a testament to his commitment to public safety and the hard work of our police officers. I am grateful for Chief Mitchell’s collaboration with our administration and his focus on community-centered policing.”

The Oakland Police Officers Association issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” by Mitchell’s resignation, and “questioning whether certain anti-law enforcement factions of the community were ready or open to his honesty, dedication, and support of public safety.”

“The OPOA calls on the Mayor and City Council to finally confront the dysfunction that has crippled the effectiveness of OPD for years,” the association said. “It’s time to stop the revolving door, to rebuild trust, and to restore stability — before more good people–both in our department and our community–lose faith that real change is possible.”

OPOA president Huy Nguyen says executing the department’s vision is challenging when its leaders come and go. 

“Again and again, we continue to recruit talented people in this city, and we can’t seem to retain them,” said Nguyen. “In my 26 years, 15 police chiefs have taken the helm, and it’s really difficult … Sometimes we have to evaluate, is it us? Or is it them?”

Nguyen called on the city to take a closer look at what’s happening, from the top down, because he says the department is losing people every day.

“Every single rank in this organization continue to leave, not only just police officers but we have supervisors, commanders, and now chief of police,” said Nguyen. “But now I challenge the mayor and the council to create a plan to retain the talent.”

The Oakland Police Department has been under federal oversight since 2003, the longest-monitored department in the nation, following the notorious “Riders” police misconduct case. A federal judge again extended the government’s oversight in September 2024, finding that reforms following a negotiated settlement agreement on issues such as use-of-force, internal affairs investigations, and community relations were incomplete and the department remained out of compliance.

Oakland’s repeated changes of police chiefs have contributed to the department’s delay in exiting federal oversight and led to ongoing instability, according to civil rights attorney John Burris and the Police Executive Research Forum.  

While the reason Mitchell resigned is unclear, Nguyen believes it’s the challenging working conditions. Burris has a different take, saying he thinks it has to do with the leadership at the top.

“One could understand and appreciate that he was appointed by a previous mayor, and a new mayor would want their own police chief,” said Burris. 

Mitchell came to Oakland from Lubbock, Texas, and Burris feels he may not have been prepared for the differences between the two cities.

“You have to deal with the monitoring, you have to deal with the courts, you have to deal with the police commission, aside from the mayor, the city manager and the community itself,” Burris said. “So there was a lot of different dimensions to the job I thought he was not necessarily ready for when he took the job.”

Burris believes the OPD can soon exit monitorship, but the department needs to stay on the path it’s on.

“We’ve made a lot of reforms here and it’s taken a long time to get them implemented,” Burris said. “We don’t want someone to come in with a brand-new idea and tear it all down. So, whoever comes in has to appreciate that a lot of work has been done and we want to build on that work.”

Following Mitchell’s announcement that he was stepping down, the Oakland City Auditor on Wednesday released a report saying vacancies and outdated minimum staffing standards have led to the department missing state targets for emergency call responses. Ongoing staffing shortages forced the Oakland Police Department last month to reassign six motorcycle traffic officers to patrol duties. Meanwhile, a recent report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute concluded that Oakland’s public safety issues are directly tied to its ongoing budget crisis.