As more than a dozen officers face criminal investigation for their part in an alleged prostitution scandal involving an underage girl, the Oakland Police Department has lost its third police chief in a matter of eight days.
On Friday, acting Police Chief Paul Figueroa reportedly stepped down after only two days on the job, Timereports. If this fills like déjà vu, that’s because a different police chief resigned after two days back in 2013 for reportedly failing to properly discipline officers who exhibited "abusive behavior."
Figueroa is reportedly only taking a leave of absence and has asked to return as a captain instead. Mayor Libby Schaaf also insisted that his resignation had nothing to do with the recent prostitution scandal.
In the meantime, officers will report to City Administrator Sabrina Landreth who will handle all disciplinary action. "This is the appropriate time to install civilian oversight in this police department,” Schaaf said. "I want to assure the citizens of Oakland that we are hell bent on rooting out this disgusting culture.”
That "disgusting culture" allegedly includes more than two dozen current and former police offers accused of having sex with a prostitute named Celeste Guap before her 18th birthday. CBS Newsreports that an investigation into the scandal began in September 2015 after officer Brendan O'Brien admitted to having sex with Guap while she was underage before he committed suicide.
The department is also being investigated for sending racist text messages, which Schaaf deemed "wholly inappropriate and not acceptable from anyone who wears the badge of the Oakland Police Department." Per Time, she also criticized its "toxic, macho culture" and plans to get rid of "the bad apples."
UPDATE 06/20/16:
