A report released this week said court ordered reforms in the Oakland police department were not getting done under Batts. Batts resigned Tuesday of this week, saying he couldn't get anything done because of the bureaucracy. Batts claimed the mayor and the city council were preventing him from fully doing his duties.
"I have a crime related problem that is out in the community, I have to be able to move resources. There are laws within the city of Oakland right now that says I can't touch 75 officers," said Batts.
The report that was released before his resignation said the court ordered reforms stemming from the Riders' case in 2000 are not happening fast enough, if at all. Back in 2000, four officers were charged with systematically beating and framing suspects, the officers called themselves the Riders. No officers were convicted, but the city paid millions in a civil suit. The reforms were also part of the settlement.
One of Batts' priorities when he became chief in 2009 was to implement the reforms. The report claims, there has now been a reversal in reaching those goals.
If the city does not prove to a federal judge in January that they are making progress, the federal government could exert a control over the Oakland police department.
Also in Oakland today, the mayor and city administrator are set to name the interim chief of the police department at 1 p.m. Assistant Chief Howard Jordan is expected to take over as interim chief. Jordan has been in the department for 23 years. He served as interim chief for seven months in 2009, following the resignation of former chief Wayne Tucker.
