San Leandro has plucked Los Altos Police Chief Angela Averiett to serve as its next interim chief until a permanent police chief can be secured, the city said this week. 

Averiett will take the place of interim Chief Kevin Hart, who took the place of former Chief Abdul Pridgen, who had been on leave but whose last day with the department was Tuesday.  

Hart will be handing over the reins to Averiett in late April, according to the city, due to “restrictions related to his retired annuitant status” under California’s Public Employees’ Retirement Law.

San Leandro Police Chief Abdul Pridgen is pictured. (Photo courtesy City of San Leandro)

Pridgen was put on leave last September for allegedly violating department policies, none of which the city has ever come forward about, citing legal constraints.  

Pridgen was appointed to be San Leandro’s police chief in 2021 after previously leading the Seaside Police Department in Monterey County.  

Averiett has also worked at the Hayward Police Department and served as deputy chief of police for BART. 

San Leandro City Manager Fran Robustelli said the city will be working on finding a permanent chief in collaboration with the city’s Community Police Review Board and members of the community.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.