OAKLAND, Calif. — The police commission in Oakland, California voted to fire Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who was Spokane’s police chief from 2006 to 2012, on Thursday night.
According to KPIX-TV, the termination is without cause, which means the commission doesn’t have to give a reason for the firing. Oakland Police Commission Chair Regina Jackson told the station that the commission they lost confidence in Kirkpatrick over time.
KPIX-TV learned from sources within the city that some issues with Kirkpatrick stemmed from failing to uphold reforms as the department runs under federal oversight, which began after a lawsuit over police misconduct in 2000. The station reports that in 2019, the federal monitor criticized the chief’s disciplinary decisions involving officers who shot and killed a homeless man.
Kirkpatrick is entitled to one year's pay of about $270,000, if she agrees to be released from her duty as police chief.
Kirkpatrick was hired as the Spokane Police Chief back in 2006 to reform the department after a police brutality scandal that led to the death of Otto Zehm. Kirkpatrick retired in 2012 after facing several lawsuits, including some for wrongful termination.
She retired from SPD in 2012 and took a position in Chicago. She was hired in Oakland in January 2017.
The previous Oakland PD chief was forced to resign after the sex scandal, which also derailed the department’s reform process.
