Oakland may have run afoul of city and state ethics laws on Thursday when a city employee used the municipal email account to forward a campaign message from presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris, a legal expert said.

The email from the Harris campaign, which contains information about the candidate’s kickoff plans in Oakland, was forwarded to reporters by Officer Johnna Watson, a spokeswoman for the Oakland Police Department, using an official email account.

“To Our Media Partners,” her email read. “We are forwarding this press release from the organizers of this Sunday, January 27, 2019, event.”

The forwarded email appears with the header “Kamala Harris for the People,” her campaign slogan, and reads, “At the rally, Harris will lay out why she is running for president, the challenges that face the nation, and her vision for the country. Harris believes that the time is now for us all to defend the American values of equality, decency, justice, and democracy — and her candidacy will be animated by her life’s work of fighting ‘for the people.”

State and city ethics codes prohibit public employees from using government resources, including their official email, for campaign purposes. Enforcement is rare.

Watson said she forwarded the notice so reporters would know where to get press credentials to cover the rally. Media registration information was included in the email.

Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who teaches campaign ethics and political law, said police officials should not distribute campaign materials using city resources.

“It definitely feels like an endorsement, which is not OK,” Levinson said. “It sounds like, ‘Hey guys, we’re having a rally, and you should come.’ It sounds like they’re doing PR, which they can’t.”

If the California Fair Political Practices Commission had the appetite, there could potentially be a fine, Levinson said. But, she added, “I really don’t think this is the kind of thing that will bring down democracy.”

Chronicle staff writer Phil Matier contributed to this report.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov