Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong’s whistleblower lawsuit rejected

Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who was appointed to the place by then-Mayor Libby Schaaf in 2021, suffered one other main authorized setback final week after a state decide dismissed his lawsuit towards Oakland.

Armstrong sued Oakland final yr, claiming the town and then-Mayor Sheng Thao fired him in February 2023 in retaliation for talking out towards Robert Warshaw, the federal monitor who oversees the police division. Armstrong’s lawsuit additionally accused Thao of violating his First Modification rights. A federal decide dismissed Armstrong’s First Modification claims final November and despatched the remainder of the claims to state courtroom to determine whether or not the town’s leaders violated labor legal guidelines.

California Supreme Court docket Choose Peter Borkon dismissed the rest of Armstrong’s case on October 16 after the town objected by means of a exception.

Borkon wrote in his ruling that Armstrong’s complaints towards the town “don’t rise to the extent of whistleblower violations for 2 causes.”

First, the decide wrote, Armstrong’s declare of whistleblower retaliation was based mostly completely on an alleged dialog on Jan. 19, 2023, between Armstrong, Thao and then-city supervisor Ed Reiskin. Nevertheless, Armstrong’s lawsuit did not “clearly allege” what was stated throughout this dialogue.

Second, Armstrong accused OPD’s federal monitor, Rober Warshaw, of fraud, however the lawsuit “gives no particulars” explaining how the fraud was dedicated. The opposite legal guidelines Armstrong accused Warshaw of violating are state legal guidelines, which don’t apply to federal courtroom observers, Borkon wrote.

Borkon’s order stated Armstrong “doesn’t present information demonstrating an objectively affordable perception that Warshaw ‘issued false experiences concerning the OPD and Chief Armstrong as a way to proceed receiving private taxpayer funds,'” as Armstrong had alleged in his lawsuit.

Borkon gave Armstrong the chance to replace his lawsuit and refile it inside ten days.

Armstrong’s legal professional didn’t instantly reply to questions from The Oaklandside concerning the case.

Oakland Metropolis Legal professional Ryan Richardson declined to remark.

Armstrong was criticized for his dealing with of a sergeant’s misconduct

Armstrong was appointed chief of the Oakland Police Division in February 2021, throughout Schaaf’s second time period as mayor. Two years later, Thao, who had simply been sworn in as mayor, took the extraordinary step of inserting Armstrong on administrative depart whereas she thought of how to answer the findings of a city-commissioned report that was extremely essential of the police chief.

The report summarized an investigation by a legislation agency commissioned by the town to research two instances of police misconduct involving an OPD sergeant. The sergeant had dedicated a hit-and-run within the parking storage of his San Francisco house constructing in 2021. Later, in a weird incident, the identical officer fired his gun in an OPD elevator and threw the shell casings off the Bay Bridge.

The investigation discovered that OPD leaders did not correctly examine the sergeant’s actions and self-discipline him appropriately. Armstrong “failed to carry his subordinate officers accountable,” the attorneys concluded, and he did not “successfully take part within the overview of the incident” — a reference to the collision — “permitting the officer concerned to flee duty for critical misconduct.” The investigators beneficial that Armstrong be suspended for 30 days.

Some group members rallied round Armstrong in early 2023 whereas he was on depart, demanding he be reinstated. On the similar time, Armstrong lashed out at Warshaw, the federal supervisor of the Oakland Police Division, accusing him of corruptly fabricating the disaster to stop OPD from escaping federal courtroom oversight.

Warshaw oversees OPD’s compliance with a reform program the town agreed to in 2003 the ‘Riders’ casea civil rights case alleging {that a} group of officers beat suspects, planted medication on them, and lied on police experiences. Warshaw experiences to a federal decide and is paid by the town for his work.

Thao fired Armstrong simply weeks after accusing Warshaw of corruption. Her firing from the chief was a call separate from the 30-day suspension he was going through.

In September 2023, a impartial listening to officer reviewed the skin investigation into the OPD sergeant’s misconduct and the 30-day suspension Armstrong confronted, and largely sided with Armstrong. The listening to officer beneficial to the town in her 55-page report that the town take into account reversing Armstrong’s suspension and expunging the report from his personnel file, in addition to assembly with Armstrong to resolve the dispute over his termination.

The listening to officer discovered it unrealistic to anticipate Armstrong to have learn the interior affairs experiences central to the case involving the sergeant, concluding that “nothing was in dispute.” [law firm’s report] helps the conclusion that the Chief has failed to carry different OPD officers to the Division’s requirements, insurance policies, and rules.”

Nevertheless, the listening to officer didn’t weigh in on whether or not or not Armstrong needs to be reinstated as chief.

Thao and the town took no motion on the listening to officer’s report, because it was solely a advice and never a binding final result.

The Police Fee discovered that Armstrong had one other lapse in supervision

In November 2024, a federal decide rejected Armstrong’s claims that his proper to free speech was violated when he was fired. Choose Trina Thompson wrote in her ruling that elected officers just like the mayor ought to be capable to make personnel selections that advance the coverage platform for which they had been elected.

“By criticizing the Federal Monitor, with ‘intensive’ protection of that criticism, and stating that the Federal Monitor was trying to ‘prolong its profitable monitoring contract,’ Armstrong undermined the flexibility of Mayor Thao’s administration to work with the monitor assigned by the Court docket to supervise OPD,” Thompson wrote in her choice.

Thompson despatched the remaining employment legislation claims in Armstrong’s lawsuit to a state courtroom to be determined.

Relating to Armstrong’s claims that Warshaw created a disaster to keep up his paid position as OPD monitor, Superior Court docket Choose Borkon wrote that they had been “speculative” and didn’t meet the “goal requirements” of the whistleblower statute in state labor legislation.

Along with his reinstatement as police chief, Armstrong sought financial damages, punitive damages to be paid by Thao, cash for emotional misery, attorneys’ charges and different compensation for his dismissal.

Final yr, earlier than a federal decide’s choice in his lawsuit, Armstrong confronted extra criticism after particulars of a separate investigation into OPD’s dealing with of allegations surrounding a murder investigator grew to become public. OPD Detective Phong Tran was charged with bribing a witness and committing perjury to ship two males to jail. The Oakland Police Fee’s civilian investigative workplace concluded that Armstrong failed to make sure that OPD’s inner affairs division correctly dealt with the Tran case. They beneficial that Armstrong face a brief suspension if he had been ever reinstated as chief.