Sean Whent is out as Oakland police chief

Sean Whent is out as Oakland police chief, a city official said. Sean Whent is out as Oakland police chief, a city official said. Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Sean Whent is out as Oakland police chief 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent has resigned, Mayor Libby Schaaf announced Thursday night.

“I am so proud to have served Oakland over the course of my two decade-long career,” Whent was quoted as saying in a news release from Schaaf’s office.

Whent, who became the department’s head in May of 2014, had taken over as acting chief after Howard Jordan abruptly resigned in 2013. Whent was well-liked, soft spoken and considered an agent for change in the historically troubled police force. The department is still recovering from a scandal that happened more than a decade ago, when a group of officers known as the “Riders” allegedly beat up citizens in Oakland.

In recent months, the department has been rattled by a new spate of misconduct cases. An officer named Cullen Faeth faced misdemeanor charges of battery, public intoxication and trespassing after he allegedly tried to break into a home in Oakland’s Redwood Heights neighborhood in December and attacked a woman who lived there.

In February, rookie officer Matthew Santos was arrested for pointing his gun at a man who was painting his apartment in Emeryville. Santos was fired shortly after the incident and pleaded not guilty on Friday to felony charges of false imprisonment and brandishing a firearm.

In May, four officers were placed on leave and two resigned as a result of an ongoing sexual misconduct case. With pressure mounting from Schaaf’s office and angry Oakland residents, Whent asked the city’s auditor and the Police Department’s inspector general to analyze each case and look for patterns.

In March, court-appointed investigator Edward Swanson released a mixed review of the department, saying it has made progress but needs to “consider thoroughly whether supervisors, and not just officers, should be disciplined when something goes wrong.”

Benson H. Fairow, who is currently the deputy police chief at BART, will head the force while Oakland looks for a new chief, Schaaf said.

No reason was given for Whent’s resignation, but Schaaf called it a “personal choice,” in the news release announcing his departure.

“When I took this job three years ago as interim chief, I vowed to help move the department forward and make Oakland safer by forging a stronger relationship with members of this diverse community. I am proud to have done that,” Whent said in the release.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com