Former Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick ousted as Oakland’s top cop

OAKLAND, Calif. – The commission overseeing Oakland’s police department fired Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, Spokane’s former police chief, in a special meeting Thursday night.

The decision was made unanimously by the police commission and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf during a closed session.

The commission chair, Regina Jackson, said in a statement that the panel had, since its inception in 2016, “observed the Oakland Police Department’s failure to increase compliance with the court-ordered reforms” required under a federal settlement more than a decade ago.

“As Mayor, it is my duty to determine when the trust between The Police Commission and the Police Chief has become irrevocably lost and prevents Oakland from moving forward,” Schaaf said in a statement.

Kirkpatrick was selected as Spokane’s police chief in 2006 by then-Mayor Dennis Hession. She generally enjoyed good relations with Spokane’s elected leaders but had a rocky relationship with the police union. Kirkpatrick left her job in Spokane at the end of Mary Verner’s term as mayor at the end of 2011.

The Oakland police union expressed disappointment over the firing.

“Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was a well-respected leader of the Oakland Police Department and was making significant progress in bringing stability to OPD,” Oakland Police Officers’ Association President Barry Donelan said in a statement.

The rest of the East Bay Times’ report is available here.