Oakland Police Commission makes its picks

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Abdul Pridgen, former San Leandro police chief, is among four finalists recommended for the job in Oakland.

CITY NEWS

OAKLAND/SAN LEANDRO

—POLICE CHIEF CHASE CONTINUES—The Oakland Police Commission interviewed four candidates for the vacant police chief position on Thursday night and apparently liked most of what they heard.

—After deliberating in closed session, the police commission unanimously voted late Thursday night to move forward all four candidates for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s consideration.

—The finalists include Abdul Pridgen, former San Leandro police chief; Louis Molina, assistant deputy mayor for public safety in New York City; Lisa Davis, Cincinnati Police Department lieutenant colonel; and Floyd Mitchell, president of the Texas Police Chief Association.

—Pridgen was among the three finalists provided to Thao by the Police Commission in December. All three were rejected.

—At the time, Pridgen was on paid administrative leave in San Leandro and the subject of an independent investigation for alleged violations of unspecified department policy. Pridgen was terminated by the San Leandro city manager last week.

—Marsha Carpenter Peterson, the chair of Oakland Police Commission, acknowledged that Pridgen’s candidacy was recently rejected by the mayor.

—“We believe in the merit of his candidacy and we understood the mayor’s office was still interested in vetting him,” Peterson said on Thursday.

—The statement bolsters chatter that the Police Commission favored Pridgen’s candidacy, along with rumors that San Leandro insiders are privately talking up Pridgen’s abilities to the Oakland mayor’s office.

—But convincing the mayor is one thing. The cloud of uncertainty hanging over Pridgen’s time in San Leandro will eventually have to be publicly addressed to the media and Oakland residents.

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