For more than two decades, a federal judge has overseen the Oakland Police Department, a role that’s earned him the nickname “the chief to the police chief.”
But some Oakland residents said that oversight is partly to blame for the department’s chronic staffing shortages. One Oakland mother has launched a petition asking the judge to end federal monitoring so the department can regain its independence.
Reports in recent years suggested the Oakland Police Department needs more than 800 officers to operate effectively. Currently, the department has about 645 officers, but more than 100 of them are on long-term leave, leaving roughly 540 active officers…