Mayor Barbara Lee announced Friday that longtime Oakland police veteran James Beere will take over the department as interim chief of police in the wake of Chief Floyd Mitchell’s departure.
Currently Beere is Oakland’s assistant police chief and has served in various capacities withing the Police Department since 1997.
Outgoing Chief Mitchell praised Beere’s leadership during a news conference Friday to announce the appointment.
“We have a lot of good leaders at the Oakland Police Department and Assistant Chief James Beere stood above them all,” Mitchell said. “The decision to appoint him as the interim chief of this department is an easy one and I look forward to seeing him blossom in this position, in this role, as he supports the mayor and the city administrator.”
Lee said she selected Beere in consultation with the head of the city’s Police Commission, as required by Measure S1. Passed by voters in 2020, the measure establishes a procedure for how a new, permanent police chief is vetted and hired.
“The decision to appoint (James Beere) as the interim chief of this department is an easy one and I look forward to seeing him blossom in this position, in this role, as he supports the mayor and the city administrator.”
Floyd Mitchell, departing Oakland Police Chief
“Public safety requires both strong operational leadership and robust accountability systems working in partnership,” Lee said. “While we have named an interim police chief, let me be clear about what happens next, because this is not the end of the process, it is really the beginning.”
The city’s Police Commission will now work with City Administrator Jestin Johnson to prepare and distribute a job announcement and conduct a recruiting process. The Police Commission will interview candidates and provide Lee with list of at least three finalists to consider.
“I will then appoint one person from that list or reject the list in its entirety and request a new list from the Commission,” Lee said.
Lee plans ‘expeditious’ hiring process
There is no requirement for the city to set a timeline for hiring a new chief, but Lee said it will happen as “expeditiously as possible.”
“We’ll be identifying candidates who know Oakland and its public safety requirements, its culture, its people, its history and its commitment to reducing crime and ensuring accountability for our residents,” she said.
Beere’s selection comes after two days of terrible gun violence in the city, with a student being injured in a shooting at Skyline High School and beloved Laney College athletic director John Beam being shot on campus and later dying in the hospital.
Beere said that despite the high-profile shootings, the city is on the right track, hadn’t had a homicide for the 29 days preceding Beam’s death and has steadily reduced violent crime.
“I want to let everyone know and make it clear that if you commit an act of violence or you’re running around the street with a gun, we’re working with our community, our law enforcement partners throughout the region, our business owners and merchants and the residents to take you off the street and take that gun off the street,” he said.
In addition to Beere’s appointment, Lee announced she has appointed assistant city administrator Michelle Phillips to the newly created role of “constitutional policing administration.”
Philips will be embedded within OPD to focus on “transparency, accountability and constitutional policing practices,” and will help develop policies and procedures in partnership with the chief and other city leaders.
