Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is being forced to resign as police chief amid a continued rise in violent crime and staffing problems in the beleaguered city.
The demand is a fresh setback for Thao, who faces recall elections in November.
The Oakland Police Officers Association announced it voted unanimously Tuesday to call for her resignation, saying it will support the recall effort if she does not step aside.
The organization, led by President Huy Nguyen, warned that the city has become a laughing stock.
“We are a joke, not only in the state, but in the country and the world. We have to change the state of the city,” Sgt. Nguyen told a news conference, Mercury News defeated.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is facing calls to resign as police chief over violent crime and staffing problems in the beleaguered city
They cited rising crime, police shortages and the city’s uncertain financial future as reasons for their lack of confidence.
A recent FBI raid on Thao’s home in connection with an alleged money laundering scheme only further damaged Thao’s credibility, Nguyen added. Thao has protested her innocence.
The union warned that the police need about 500 more officers than they currently have to function effectively.
“The leadership in this city continues to fail time and time again and the citizens continue to suffer,” Nguyen said.
Thao has struggled with high levels of violent crime since taking office, but she says her government has achieved “a significant reduction in robberies, shootings and murders.”
However, data from the Oakland Police Department shows that violent crime rates rose by more than a fifth through 2023, a year after she was elected.
Although the murder rate has dropped, Oakland still has a higher murder rate than the US average.
The Oakland Police Officers Association announced it had voted unanimously to call for her resignation on Tuesday, saying it will support recall efforts if she does not step aside. Pictured: A shantytown in struggling Oakland
The union cited rising crime, understaffing in the police force and the city’s uncertain financial future as reasons for its lack of confidence.
Thao’s credibility has been further undermined by an FBI raid on her home in connection with an alleged money laundering operation. Thao has maintained that she has done nothing wrong
The number of robberies and car thefts has doubled and tripled respectively compared to pre-pandemic figures.
Among the most shocking events were the mass shooting at a Juneteenth party in Lake Merritt and an elderly woman who was attacked and robbed in the middle of the day.
Just a month ago, 100 robbers ransacked a gas station and emptied the shelves. Their actions did not result in the police arriving on the scene in time.
Days after the incident, Oakland police admitted that there are only 35 officers on patrol at any given time, for a city of more than 400,000 people.
Thao responded by saying that crime is down compared to the crime wave of early 2023. However, astute observers have noted that her office’s report compared the fully compiled statistics from late 2023 to the ongoing 2024 count.
Thao said in a statement that her budget “prioritized public safety by funding two new police academies and prevented the elimination of more than 80 police officer positions.”
“I call on the four-member board of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association to join me in celebrating this achievement instead of trying to scare the public with misinformation and lies,” she added.
Her spokesperson confirmed that “the mayor has no plans to resign.”
The organization, led by President Huy Nguyen, is a joke
The number of robberies and car thefts has doubled and tripled respectively compared to pre-pandemic figures.
But retired Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte, who led the recall effort against Thao, told local media she had “blood on her hands” while criticizing her policies, which she said are causing businesses to leave Oakland faster than ever before.
Entrepreneurs who have decided to persevere are now reaching their breaking point. One Oakland resident who has been struggling for years calls the current state of affairs “demoralizing.”
Several major brands, including Denny’s and Taco Bell, have fled or reconfigured their locations in the city to tackle crime.
In addition to Thao, progressive District Attorney Pamela Price is also at stake for what many see as her soft approach to crime.
