Search for Oakland police chief officially includes LeRonne Armstrong

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Oakland Police Commission has sent a list of the top seven candidates for police chief to city leaders - and one of them is the former Chief LeRonne Armstrong who the mayor fired eight months ago.

Out of the 20 who have applied so far, the only name that's been public is that of LeRonne Armstrong, the former police chief whom Oakland's Mayor Sheng Thao fired in February alleging he mishandled misconduct charges against a police officer. Last month, an independent report then cleared Armstrong of any wrongdoing.

On Tuesday, Armstrong released a statement saying: "I believe that the mayor should rehire me as Chief of Police based upon the clear evidence that I acted properly and did not violate any department policies."

MORE: Ex-Oakland PD chief explains what led up to his firing after audit disputes prior accusations

Armstrong's spokesperson Sam Singer said, "This should be a no brainer for the mayor and the police commission and we hope they do the right thing - right a past wrong and put him where he belongs as chief of police."

But there are six other candidates on the short list- and there could be more names since candidates can still throw their hat in the ring until the end of this week.

The mayor's office declined to comment on the list of candidates including Armstrong, to not compromise the integrity of the search for a police chief since recruitment is open until Friday.

The police commission is expected to start formal consideration of the candidates later this month.

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