The NAACP Oakland Branch demanded the City of Oakland release the list of candidates being considered as the city’s new police chief in a letter released Friday.
The letter comes after the Oakland Police Commission announced last week it had submitted the list of three candidates to Mayor Sheng Thao, who has the authority to make the hiring decision. Who exactly is on the list is confidential.
In the NAACP’s letter, branch President Cynthia Adams called for all names to be released to the public and asked the city to “hold public forums that allow residents to interview the prospective police chiefs.”
Adam’s letter pointed toward the selection process that led to former Police Chief LeRonne Armstron’s hiring in 2020, which she says had a virtual forum allowing residents to ask questions of the candidates.
Armstrong has re-applied for the job and his name was on a short list of seven candidates in October. As the list is confidential, it’s unclear if he made it onto the list of three.
Thao has previously said she would not rehire Armstrong, who she fired in February after an independent report found he had mishandled cases of officer conduct.
Armstrong and his attorney point to a later report, conducted as part of an administrative appeal, which questioned the accuracy of those findings.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
