The police chief in Oakland, California, has resigned following multiple officer misconduct cases, including a high-profile sex scandal, making him the latest top cop of a major US city to step down in the face of growing backlash.

Less than a month after the forced resignation of the San Francisco police chief, the city of Oakland abruptly announced the departure of chief Sean Whent saying the decision was a “personal choice”. However his resignation came several weeks after allegations surfaced of sexual misconduct by numerous officers.

The resignation of Whent – who’s department has also faced allegations that an officer may have gotten away with murder – comes after the police chief in San Francisco, Greg Suhr, stepped down in the wake of multiple fatal shooting controversies and a widening scandal involving racist and homophobic messages by officers.

The resignations of the chiefs of two of the largest cities in California are the latest in a string of police chiefs losing their jobs in metropolitan police departments.

Anthony Batts, former head of the Oakland police department, was fired as Baltimore police chief following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Chicago police chief Garry McCarthy was fired after video emerged of the shooting of Laquan McDonald. Thomas Jackson, police chief of Ferguson, Missouri stepped down on the heels of a federal investigation of racial bias. And the Portland, Oregon police chief was recently placed on leave in the wake of allegations that he lied about an accidental shooting.

In Oakland, which presidential candidate Donald Trump recently declared one of the “most dangerous” places in the world, scandals have piled up in recent months.



Police chief Sean Whent. Photograph: City of Oakland police department

In one case, an Oakland officer was charged with battery, trespassing and public intoxication after he allegedly showed up intoxicated to a stranger’s house and assaulted her. The victim has raised questions about whether the department subsequently tried to cover up the scandal.

Another officer faced charges this year after he allegedly pulled a gun on a painter while off-duty.

In May, news broke that Oakland officer Brendan O’Brien may have killed his wife in 2014 in a death police had said was a suicide. A coroner, however, said the death was “suspicious”, and two bullets were fired from O’Brien’s gun.

O’Brien later killed himself and allegedly left a suicide note that launched an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct – a case that led four officers to be placed on leave, with two ultimately resigning.

At a hastily planned press conference Friday morning at city hall in Oakland, mayor Libby Schaaf repeatedly claimed that Whent made the choice to step down.

“The chief’s resignation was a personal decision, and I respect it tremendously. This is an incredibly difficult job.”

Mayor Libby Schaaf (center) said Whent’s resignation was a ‘personal decision’. Photograph: Sam Levin/The Guardian

Asked if his resignation was related to the recent scandals, the mayor responded that Whent was not the subject of the sexual misconduct investigations, adding, “I’m extremely angry about the alleged misconduct in this department and … we will hold anyone who has engaged in misconduct in this department fully accountable.”

Oakland has a long history of controversial policing, and the department is currently under court oversight stemming from a 2000 federal lawsuit surrounding an infamous group of cops who allegedly planted evidence on black residents, brutalized suspects and falsified records.

Critics of the department have continued to speak out about racial profiling and questionable police shootings, and with Oakland rapidly gentrifying in recent years, activists have increasingly raised concerns about police mistreatment of people of color.

In a statement Thursday night, Whent did not address the recent scandals, saying, “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 had not faced the kind of intense pressure to step down that Suhr was up against in San Francisco, and the Oakland chief’s sudden resignation came as a surprise to some in the city. Both cities will now be engaged in simultaneous searches for new permanent chiefs.

In an interview with the Guardian last month, Whent defended his department’s handling of the misconduct cases, saying the agency was holding offenders accountable.

“I’m very certain we’re not sending a message that it’s tolerated. I don’t put up with it,” he said at the time. Whent also said that the department has made significant strides since the 2000 lawsuit and slammed Trump for criticizing the city. “It’s reckless in that it’s picking on Oakland for a reputation it really doesn’t deserve.”

At the news conference, Schaaf was joined by Ben Fairow, who has stepped up as interim chief and comes from the Bay Area Rapid Transit police department where he is deputy police chief.