New Oakland police chief candidates revealed ahead of public forum

The Oakland Police Commission has revealed the new candidates for chief of police ahead of a public forum that will be held on Thursday.

The candidates include Louis Molina, Lisa Davis, Floyd Mitchell and Abdul Pridgen.

Abdul Pridgen is the former San Leandro Police Chief. He left the department last week. Pridgen was placed on administrative leave in September 2023 during an investigation into "allegations regarding department policy violations," city officials said. Pridgen was appointed to be San Leandro's police chief in 2021 after previously leading the Seaside Police Department in Monterey County. Before that, he served for more than 25 years with the Fort Worth Police Department in Texas, ultimately becoming the city's first and only Black assistant police chief.

Floyd Mitchell was the chief of the Lubbock, Texas Police Department.

Lisa Davis is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Louis Molina has an extensive resume and is currently the Assistant Deputy Mayor for Public Safety in New York City.

This new batch of police chief hopefuls comes after Mayor Sheng Thao rejected the first pool of candidates suggested by the commission.

It has now been more than a year since Mayor Thao fired LeRonne Armstrong from his job. Armstrong is suing the city for wrongful termination, but the search continues. Community leaders are calling for a new chief to be appointed as soon as possible.

MORE: Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong files wrongful termination lawsuit against city, mayor

"People are afraid, and businesses are closing," said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, "We need to have the chief, the potential chief, have a basic understanding of the diverse cultures and to build the working relationship with all communities."

The forum will be open to the public, and it will start at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at City Hall.

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