Floyd Mitchell

Last updated

Floyd Mitchell
Floyd Mitchell official portrait.jpg
Chief of the Oakland Police Department
Assumed office
May 11, 2024

Floyd Mitchell (born 1967 or 1968) is an American police officer who has served as chief of the Oakland Police Department since 2024. He previously served as chief of the Lubbock Police Department from 2019 to 2023, as well as chief of the Temple, Texas, police department.

Contents

Early life

Mitchell was born 1967 or 1968 in Kansas City, Missouri, to a blue-collar family. [1]

Career

A United States Air Force veteran, Mitchell began his police career with the Kansas City Police Department, serving 25 years with the department, before leaving the department, being appointed as the chief of the Temple, Texas, police department, a position he held for four years. He was then appointed as chief of the Lubbock Police Department in November 2019, the first African-American chief of that department. He resigned as chief on September 22, 2023, having served four years with the department. [2] While chief of the respective departments, crime rates and police response times were reported to have reduced in both, however, in Lubbock, issues arose over the city's 911 system, where the number of "abandoned" calls, calls which were ended before being answered, doubled. He later admitted that he had been too focused on the dispatch time of answered calls and that he had learned from his previous mistakes. [1] [3]

On March 22, 2024, over a year after the firing of previous chief LeRonne Armstrong and a sharp increase in crime in 2023, Mayor of Oakland Sheng Thao announced the appointment of Mitchell, who she described as "a strong leader and a smart crimefighter who delivers results," as chief of the Oakland Police Department to replace acting chief Darren Allison. As chief, Mitchell announced his intent to go on a "listening tour", where he spoke with officers, officials, and community members. He also said one of his goals was to remove the department from a two-decade-long federal oversight following a police brutality incident by instituting reforms. [4] [1] [3] He officially entered office on May 11, with his first day as chief on May 13. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department</span> American municipal police force

The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, municipal police departments in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pretty Boy Floyd</span> American bank robber

Charles Arthur Floyd, nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. He was seen positively by the public because, during robberies, he burned mortgage documents freeing many people from their debts. He was pursued and killed by a group of Bureau of Investigation agents led by Melvin Purvis. Historians have speculated as to which officers were at the event, but accounts document that local officers Robert "Pete" Pyle and George Curran were present at his fatal shooting and also at his embalming. Floyd has continued to be a familiar figure in American popular culture, sometimes seen as notorious, other times portrayed as a tragic figure, even a victim of the hard times of the Great Depression in the United States. Floyd is viewed by many as a prime example of a real life anti-hero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sideshow (automobile exhibition)</span> Informal automotive skills event

A sideshow is an informal and often illegal demonstration of automotive stunts now often held in vacant lots, and public intersections, originally seen in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, United States. Sideshows first appeared in Oakland, California in the 1980s as informal social gatherings of Bay Area youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bratton</span> American police chief (born 1947)

William Joseph Bratton CBE is an American businessman and former law enforcement officer who served two non-consecutive tenures as the New York City Police Commissioner and currently one of only two NYPD commissioners to do so. He previously served as the Commissioner of the Boston Police Department (BPD) (1993–1994) and Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) (2002–2009). He is the only person to have led the police departments of the United States' two largest cities – New York and Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas</span> United States federal district court in Texas

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas is a United States district court. Its first judge, Andrew Phelps McCormick, was appointed to the court on April 10, 1879. The court convenes in Dallas, Texas with divisions in Fort Worth, Amarillo, Abilene, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls. It has jurisdiction over 100 counties in the northern and central parts of the U.S. state of Texas.

Leon Joseph "Bip" Roberts is an American former Major League Baseball second baseman and outfielder who played from 1986 to 1998 for the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooke Rollins</span> American lawyer (born 1972)

Brooke Leslie Rollins is an American attorney and policy advisor who is the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute. She previously served as the acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council under President Donald Trump. Prior to assuming that role, Rollins oversaw the White House Office of American Innovation. Rollins was president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank, from 2003 through 2018. During her tenure at TPPF, the think tank grew from having a staff of three to a staff of 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minneapolis Police Department</span> Minnesota, United States law enforcement agency

The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesota, after the Saint Paul Police Department that formed in 1854. A short-lived Board of Police Commissioners existed from 1887 to 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Police Department</span> Law enforcement agency serving Oakland, CA

The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is a law enforcement agency responsible for policing the city of Oakland, California, United States. As of May 2021, the department employed 709 sworn officers and 371 civilian employees. The department is divided into 5 geographical divisions policing Oakland's 78 square miles and population of 420,000. The OPD receives 550,000 annual calls for service, and responds to over 250,000 law enforcement incidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Police Department</span> Law enforcement agency in Kansas City, Missouri

The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Kansas City, Missouri. Jackson County 16th Circuit Court Circuit Court Judge Jen Phillips swore in Stacey Graves as the 46th chief of police of the KCPD on December 15, 2022. Graves, who served as head of the KCPD's Deputy Chief of the Patrol Bureau, became the city's 46th police chief on December 15, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Quan</span> Chinese-American politician

Lai Jean Quan is a Chinese-American politician who served the 49th mayor of Oakland, California from 2011 to 2015. She previously served as City Council member for Oakland's 4th District. Upon inauguration on January 3, 2011, she became Oakland's first female mayor. Quan ran an unsuccessful campaign for reelection in 2014, losing the mayoral race to Libby Schaaf, a member of the Oakland City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of the Oakland Police Department</span>

The Chief of the Oakland Police Department is an office held by the executive head and highest-ranking officer of the Oakland Police Department. The chief was first established in 1853. The chief manages and oversees the planning, development and implementation of all law enforcement and crime prevention programs for the City. They provide leadership, vision and direction to the Department and its command staff and promotes collaboration, communication and coordination with other city agencies and community organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Frey</span> Mayor of Minneapolis since 2018

Jacob Lawrence Frey is an American politician and attorney who has served as the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he served on the Minneapolis City Council from 2014 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Craig (police chief)</span> American police chief (born 1956)

James E. Craig is an American law enforcement official who served as the chief of the Detroit Police Department from 2013 to 2021. He previously served as chief of the Cincinnati Police Department and Portland Police Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of George Floyd</span> 2020 police murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street. Two other police officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd. Lane had also pointed a gun at Floyd's head before Floyd was handcuffed. A fourth police officer, Tou Thao, prevented bystanders from intervening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests</span> 2020–2023 police brutality protests

The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as reactions to the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African American man, by city police during an arrest. They spread nationally and internationally. Veteran officer Derek Chauvin was recorded as kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds; Floyd complained of not being able to breathe, but three other officers looked on and prevented passersby from intervening. Chauvin and the other three officers involved were later arrested. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22+12 years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loren Taylor</span> American politician (born 1977)

Loren Taylor is an American politician who served on the Oakland City Council from 2019 to 2023. A Democrat, he represented the 6th district, which includes the East Oakland neighborhoods of Maxwell Park, Millsmont, Havenscourt, and Eastmont. He was a candidate in the 2022 Oakland Mayoral Election, narrowly losing by 0.6% to fellow city councilmember Sheng Thao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Oakland mayoral election</span>

The 2022 Oakland mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of Oakland, California. Incumbent mayor Libby Schaaf was term-limited. Sheng Thao won the election and was inaugurated as mayor in January 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheng Thao</span> American politician (born 1985)

Sheng Thao is an American politician who is the 51st and current mayor of Oakland, California. She is the first Hmong American mayor of a major city in the United States. She was elected as mayor of Oakland in November 2022 and started her term in January 2023. On November 5, 2024, Thao was recalled. She is the first mayor in Oakland’s history to be recalled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Oakland mayoral recall election</span> Recall election in Oakland

The 2024 Oakland mayoral recall election was a successful special recall election to remove Oakland mayor Sheng Thao from office, less than two years into her first term. It was held on November 5, 2024, concurrent with the statewide and nationwide general elections.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rosenburg, Eli; Hernandez, David (March 22, 2024). "Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao names Floyd Mitchell new police chief after year-long search". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  2. Hasty, Chad (September 12, 2023). "BREAKING: Lubbock Police Chief Floyd Mitchell Resigns". KFYO . Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Barnard, Cornell (March 23, 2024). "Officials, advocates give advice to incoming new OPD chief: 'Gotta be Oakland tough'". KGO-TV . Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  4. Ellison, Stephen (March 22, 2024). "Oakland names Floyd Mitchell as new police chief". KNTV . Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  5. Torrez, James (May 13, 2024). "Oakland's new police chief officially on the job". KTVU . Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.