OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The Oakland Police Department swore in a new police chief on Monday.
He is a home-grown product from the “town” and an officer who has risen through the ranks at OPD.
The new chief even has the backing of the police commission.
“Congratulations,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said.
With a roaring round of applause and a COVID-19 appropriate elbow bump, LeRonne Armstrong was sworn-in and is now the new Chief of Police of the Oakland Police Department.
The new chief is a son of Oakland and a proud graduate of McClymonds High School where his swearing-in ceremony took place.
“This is where I grew up. It wasn’t about a high school. It was about a family,” Chief LeRonne Armstrong said.
Chief Armstrong is also a 22-year-veteran who has risen through the ranks at OPD.
He and his family are also among those who mourn the loss of loved ones killed in acts of violence in Oakland, including his older brother back in 1985 and more recently a relative who is among January 2021’s 15 homicide victims.
“One of the people killed this year is a part of my family,” Armstrong said.
All of this together makes him uniquely qualified to lead OPD, earning the endorsement of the Chair of the Oakland Police Commission Regina Jackson.
“I don’t think anybody is closer to what we were looking for. The Oakland Police Commission looks forward to supporting him, pushing him, holding him accountable,” Regina Jackson said.
The new chief takes over at a time when crime in the city has reached levels not seen in decades.
“I ask our community and city to stand with me as we work together so children can play outside, so that mothers and fathers don’t have to worry about stray bullets coming through their windows, and the youth of our community can have a promise that they can have a future without the threat of violence,” Armstrong said.