Ex-Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city and Mayor Sheng Thao, in an effort to return to his role.
A former police chief in Oakland is suing the city and its mayor on the grounds of wrongful termination. LeRonne Armstrong has now entangled his former work-home and its Mayor Sheng Thao in the lawsuit.
Armstrong and his lawyer claim that he was unlawfully let go from his position in the force in February 2022, allegedly for his critique of the federal government monitoring the department, as reported by ABC7. According to his attorney, Billie Wenter, he was specifically targeted and punished for speaking out about this overseeing of their operations.
“Chief Armstrong was illegally terminated,” explained Wenter, who stated that the firing violated the ex-chief’s First Amendment Right to free speech. “In particular he was retaliated against.”
The lawyer also expressed Armstrong’s passion for his old job and the love he held for his community but noted that the lawsuit also seeks to expose the “improper purpose” behind the federal monitor, which Oakland has been under for two decades. Currently, the monitor is Robert Warshaw, who the lawsuit names as someone trying to profit off the city through his role.