James Beere, a 29-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department, has been selected as the city’s permanent police chief, Mayor Barbara Lee announced Tuesday.
The appointment elevates a department insider to one of Oakland’s most scrutinized public safety jobs — and one that has been marked by years of instability. Since 2009, the city has had 11 different police chiefs or interim chiefs, a revolving door that has complicated efforts to steer the department through federal oversight, misconduct scandals and persistent concerns about violent crime.
Beere has served as interim chief since December, when former chief Floyd Mitchell stepped down after just over a year and a half on the job…