Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts Resigns
Law Enforcement & Crime Ellen Cushing — Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 2:07 PM
EDITOR'S NOTE: NEWCOMERS TO EASTBAYEXPRESS.COM, POLICE CHIEF ANTHONY BATTS RESIGNED MORE THAN TWO WEEKS AGO. PLEASE LOOK AT THE DATE OF THIS POST -- IT'S FROM OCTOBER 11 OF THIS YEAR. BATTS' RESIGNATION HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DECISION THIS WEEK TO RAID THE OCCUPY OAKLAND ENCAMPMENT. IN ADDITION, INTERIM POLICE CHIEF HOWARD JORDAN, WHO TOOK OVER FOR BATTS TWO WEEKS AGO, HAS NOT RESIGNED.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU LIKELY CAME TO THIS POST FROM A LINK ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, OR SOME OTHER WEBSITE THAT ERRONEOUSLY CLAIMED THAT OAKLAND'S POLICE CHIEF HAD RESIGNED THIS WEEK IN RESPONSE TO THE OCCUPY OAKLAND RAID AND THAT THIS POST WAS PROOF OF THAT. BUT THOSE REFERRALS TO THIS SITE WERE WRONG. THIS IS AN OLD POST THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH OCCUPY OAKLAND.
Chief Anthony Batts has resigned, according to an internal OPD memo obtained by Harry Harris at the Trib. Per the Trib's report, Batts' e-mail attributed his resignation — which will become effective sometime next month — to mounting pressure and "limited control but full accountability" in his job:"[When I was hired,] I answered the call for a reform-minded chief, a leader with a focus on community policing and high standards. I was told Oakland residents were looking for a strong visible leader to engage the community and reduce violent crime. My goal was to help rebuild a once proud, professional department geared toward crime reduction and community services....[Now,] rather than a chief managing a department of law enforcement professionals making the streets of Oakland safe, I found myself with limited control but full accountability...The landscape has changed radically over the past two years with new and different challenges."Batts, who came to Oakland in 2009 after a stint in Long Beach, was in the running for the San Jose Police Chief job earlier this year, though he was ultimately passed over in favor of acting San Jose police chief Chris Moore.
City Administrator Deanna Santana has confirmed Batts' departure, though there's no word yet on what the search for his replacement will look like, or who will run the department in the interim. We will, of course, keep you posted.
Update, 2:15: Here's the full text of the e-mail Batts just sent to the media:
It is with great regret that I tender this official notice of my intent to resign as Chief of Police for the City of Oakland.
In 2009, I answered the call for a reform-minded chief; a leader with a focus on community policing and high professional standards. I was told Oakland residents were looking for a strong, visible leader to engage the community and reduce violent crime. My goal was to help rebuild a once proud, professional department, geared toward crime reduction and community services.With this goal in mind, rather than a chief managing a diverse department of law enforcement professionals making the streets of Oakland safe, I found myself with limited control, but full accountability. The landscape has changed radically over the past two years with new and different challenges.
I am pleased with the fact that over the past two years, we have implemented positive changes, endeavoring to make Oakland a safer place, including:
• Reducing violent crime by 27% in 2010;
• Ending the 25-year public safety problem of street racing and cruising (sideshow);
• Securing a 25 officer grant to enhance community policing, school safety and to offset officer layoffs;
• Establishing a lapel camera program to impact compliance with consent decree requirements;
• Improving department relations with our diverse community;
• Securing a $1 million grant from The Kaiser Foundation for the OK police mentoring program;
• Completing a major reorganization of the police department to reflect reduced staffing levels and better meet the policing needs of the Oakland community;
• Creating a five-year strategic plan;
• Re-establishing the Police Foundation and;
• Reducing some level of compliance on all 51 tasks of the NSA, with only 12 remaining to move into full compliance.I have great respect for the citizens of Oakland and the good men and women of the Oakland Police Department. However, with a heavy heart, I have recognized that the conditions, under which I was hired as Chief, have changed and do not allow me to fulfill the primary mission — to provide an environment where one can live, work, play, and thrive free from crime and the fear of crime. To the men and women of the Oakland Police Department, and the residents of this city, it has been an honor and privilege to serve with you.
Comments (19)
Showing 1-19 of 19
like
dislikeActing Chief Howard Jones issued the orders to an already demoralized police force. For " defication and an alleged sexual assault" wow- would he call for an airstrike if it was pickpockets and skateboarders? Jones has gotta go... The whole thug patrol gotta rethink their allegence or we'll have a US Gestapo.
Indeed, this man resigned formally some time ago. Did someone really post this today as if he were related to last night's atrocities? We really do have some reflecting to do.... each of us within our own selves first. It is the only way to unravel the knot and find freedom in the ethers.
Seems a shame to lose this man - Oh well, guess he was one of those 'thinking' individuals....... for which micro-managing is not tolerated. Good for you Chief Batts ..... you leave with your integrity intact! It is for sure Oakland's loss........
Everyone please note the date on this article. October 11th, 2011. 15 days before the incidents at Occupy Oakland. This is not the person responsible for those incidents. Quan constantly tried to pin blame on this man for things that went wrong. Don't give her an out by blaming an innocent person.
This comment was deleted because it violates the Express' new commenting policy, which bars anonymous commenting. See a full explanation of the change here.
George Carlin ~ Owners of the Country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q…
"Consumption - It's the new national pastime. Baseball, it's consumption. The only true lasting American value that's left: buyin' things! Buying things. People spending money they don't have on things they don't need - MONEY THEY DON'T HAVE ON THINGS THEY DON'T NEED - so they can max out their credit cards and spend the rest of their lives paying 18% interest on something that cost 12.50! And they didn't like it when they got it home anyway.
Not too bright folks, not too *****' bright. But if you talk to one of them about this, if you isolate one of 'em, you sit them down rationally, and talk to them about the low IQs and the dumb behaviour and the bad decisions - right away they start talking about education. That's the big answer to everything. Education! They say 'We need more money for education. We need more books, more teachers, more classrooms, more schools. We need more testing for the kids!" You say to 'em "Well, you know, we've tried all of that and the kids still can't pass the tests!" "Ah, don't you worry about that, we're gonna lower the passing grades!"
And that's what they do in a lot of these schools now, they lower the passing grades so more kids can pass. More kids pass, the school looks good, everybody's happy, the IQ of the country slips another two or three points, and pretty soon all you'll need to get into college is a ***** pencil! "Got a pencil? Get the ***** in there, it's physics!"
Then everyone wonders why 17 other countries graduate more scientists than we do. "EDUCAATION". Politicians know that word - they USE it on you. Politicians have traditionally hidden behind three things: the flag, the Bible, and children! 'No child left behind'" no child left behind".. Oh really? Well, it wasn't long ago you were talking about giving kids a head start! Head start...left behind? Someone's losing ***** ground here!
But there's a reason. There's a reason. There's a reason for this, there's a reason education SUCKS, and it's the same reason it will never ever ever be fixed. It's never going to get any better, don't look for it, be happy with what you've got...BECAUSE THE OWNERS OF THIS COUNTRY DON'T WANT THAT. I'm talking about the real owners now...the REAAL owners. The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions."
"Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice . . . you don’t. You have no choice. You have OWNERS. They OWN *you*. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want.
Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want, they don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that, that doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests.
That’s right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting ***** by a system that threw them overboard 30 *****' years ago. They don’t want that. You know what they want? They want obedient workers.
Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly ***** jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your *****' retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it . . . they’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this *****' place. It’s a big club and you ain't in it. You and I are not in The big club.
By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. Good honest hard-working people, white collar, blue collar it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on.
Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means continue to elect these rich ***** who don’t give a ***** about you. They don’t give a ***** about you . . . they don’t give a ***** about you. They don’t care about you at all . . . at all . . . at all, and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care.
That’s what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that’s being jammed up their ***** everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth. It’s called the American Dream, 'cause you have to be asleep to believe it.
~George Carlin
Quan (allegedly) did not give the orders to gas or shoot protesters. Either she did and lied about it, or is simply not in control of the police. She should probably resign, but let's keep the facts straight.
Batts was not in charge when police were ordered to gas and shoot protesters, the interim chief was.
Wait... he obeyed the order to use flash bombs, tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful civilians, and he's "ethical" ?
He quit because he doesn't want to face the firing squad with Quan.
Leave now, and he saves what's left of his career.
There's a 24 yr old Marine in the hospital that knows more about ethics than Batts and Quan put together.
so it was with a "LIBERAL" mindset that she gave the order to gas protesters? get a clue..........
I also want to see some accountability for the cops who did not stop when they saw a protester was injured & bleeding on the ground. Any decent human being would call an ambulance; you'd think the cops would. Aren't they friggin' trained? If not, TRAIN YOUR COPS BEFORE YOU SEND THEM OUT.
Quan HAS to go. SHE is the one who gave the order. Although any police officer who used excessive force should also resign. They followed unlawful orders and turned against those they are supposed to serve and protect!! Shame on them.
DO NOT RESIGN!!!!!!! YOU HELPED OUR COMMUNITY TOO MUCH!!!!! MAYER QUAN SHOULD RESIGN
Hi I have seen Mayor Quan everywhere talking and interacting with Oakland citizens. She knows best what Oakland needs. It's sad that Batts is leaving, but he was actually appointed by Dellums, not Mayor Quan. I am not sure what he means by conditions have changed since he was hired. A professional changes with his environment and try to get ahead of the problems. It's part of the job. Only a desk clerk expect conditions to stay the same. That's my 2 cents.
It's no surprise that a leader within the city of Oakland became frustrated. He had great ideas and was restricted by a silly "Mayor" and a city boad that have their heads in the sky...certainly not in the streets of Oakland.
The city is and will continue to be in a terrible place where most citizens somehow pride themselves on Oakland being a bad place to live. The pride seems to be in surviving Oakland, not living and enjoying the community. I've talked to police who are proud to say they work in the most dangerous area, medical/fire who say they do more trauma and gun shot wounds then other cities and generally people who are most proud that they have friends who have been shot or that they survive the ghetto.
I don't think Oakland wants to be better and therefore, a leader with real intent, drive and ablity can't survive here...the city doesn't want to change...so it won't.
Be careful today and everyday Oaklanders!
I am greatly disappointed today, one of the few people in Oakland who had ethics. When I came across these two web sites I began t see my City in a new light.
www.unionpresidentchuckgarcia.com and www.firechiefgeraldasimon.com
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