OAKLAND (KRON) — Two Oakland Police Department officers who were placed on administrative leave over an investigation into the alleged sexual misconduct of a minor have resigned, authorities said Wednesday.
The announcement comes after it was recently revealed first on KRON4 News that multiple officers were under investigation.
“The Oakland Police Department holds all employees accountable for their actions on and off duty. The Oakland Police Department will not tolerate misconduct of any kind from its employees. Ensuring internal investigations are swift, fair, and objective is our priority,” said OPD Public Information Officer Johnna Watson.
On Monday, it was announced the investigation widened to include a fourth officer who has been placed on leave, the department said on Monday.
Police haven’t released the names of those three officers or the fourth officer who is now also part of the probe. All four were placed on administrative leave.
Last Friday, Oakland police chief Sean Whent said many of the incidents involved conduct by officers when they were off duty but he expects his officers to maintain high standards both on and off duty.
Whent said on Friday the “overwhelming majority” of his officers are honest and hard-working but he said the recent misconduct allegations “have marred our reputation.”
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf also said on Friday that a series of recent misconduct allegations against some of the city’s police officers, including sexual misconduct with a minor, are “very disturbing” and could hurt efforts to build trust with the public.
Whent said the allegations surfaced as police investigated the suicide of Officer Brendan O’Brien on Sept. 25, revealing evidence that multiple officers had engaged in sexual misconduct.
Schaaf said the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office will conduct a parallel investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations, into O’Brien’s suicide and also into the apparent suicide of O’Brien’s wife, Irma Huerta-Lopez, on June 16, 2014.
Huerta-Lopez’s death had initially been investigated as a possible homicide but investigators later determined it was a suicide. During the news conference, Whent defended that investigation, particularly the revelation that the gun used in her death had been fired twice.
Whent said it is not uncommon for people who commit suicide to fire two shots. He also acknowledged that gunshot residue had been found on both Huerta-Lopez and O’Brien’s hands, but said it likely got on O’Brien’s hands because of his routine handling of firearms.
According to Whent, video surveillance corroborated O’Brien’s alibi that he was in a convenience store at the time of his wife’s death.
To ensure the integrity of the investigation, Schaaf said that no former Oakland police officers will be involved in the district attorney’s investigations.
KRON’s Haaziq Madyun was the first break this story on May 10.
And on Tuesday, KRON4 sources learned of a major shakeup at the department. A captain currently overseeing internal affairs is being replaced and the sergeant initially assigned to investigate the alleged sexual misconduct of officers is being reassigned out of the building, according to the sources.
Haaziq has also been talking to the now 18-year-old woman at the center of the Oakland police sex scandal.
