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OAKLAND, Calif.—Embattled Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts said Tuesday he will resign next month after two years on the job.
In his resignation letter, Batts cited frustration over his role in the department, saying he answered the call in 2009 for a reform-minded chief who would work to reduce violent crime, increase community involvement and restore a department reeling from the fatal shootings of four officers in the line of duty.
"With this goal in mind, rather than a chief managing a diverse department of law enforcement professionals making the streets of Oakland safe, I found myself with limited control, but full accountability," Batts said.
Last year, violent crime fell by 27 percent and Batts was widely credited with reducing the city's murder rate to a five-year low. However, the homicide rate has climbed again this year.
Batts' announcement came less than three weeks after a U.S. District Court judge warned Oakland city officials that the city had failed to meet the terms of a settlement in a police corruption lawsuit stemming from a scandal in which several rogue officers were charged with beating or framing drug suspects in 2000.
The department has complied with only 32 of the 51 reform tasks it agreed to in 2003 in settling the case, the judge said. The department could be placed under federal receivership if the tasks aren't met.
"I'm surprised and I'm disappointed he quit in midstream," said John Burris, an
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attorney for the plaintiffs in the civil suit. "The surprising component of this that (Batts) gave a very persuasive argument to the judge about his commitment and you thought that he would be here for a long time."
Batts, 50, who used a platform of public trust and transparency, repeatedly said the beleaguered department needs more than 900 officers to effectively police the city.
Last summer's layoff of 80 officers left the force with nearly 700 sworn officers, more than 100 less than when Batts became chief.
"I have recognized that the conditions under which I was hired as chief have changed and do not allow me to fulfill the primary mission to provide an environment where one can live, work, play and thrive free from crime and the fear of crime," Batts said in his letter to Oakland residents.
The resignation surprised many of his colleagues.
"I'm shocked like everyone else. I wish him well," said police union president Dom Arotzarena. "I wish we can get someone in here to number one, help us in some challenging times and number two, show some dedication to the Oakland Police Department as we go through them."
Batts was hired in 2009 after leading the Long Beach Police Department for seven years.
He signaled his dissatisfaction in Oakland when he announced in January that he was a finalist to become police chief in San Jose. At the time, he cited concerns with Oakland's commitment to providing support and resources to its police force.
Batts also clashed with Mayor Jean Quan, who brought back dozens of officers on the force.
Capt. Ersie Joyner, who heads the department's substation in East Oakland, said he was initially shocked when Batts was interested in San Jose and figured he might be looking for other options.
"The scrutiny from the courts, the spiking crime and the lack of resources, I can see where he felt deflated," Joyner said. "It was the eye of the perfect storm."
Joyner said Batts did bring the department more structure, professionalism and community engagement that will remain in effect.
"I hope the mayor finds the right chief to restore us to where we need to be," Joyner said.
Oakland is comparable to other major U.S. cities including Newark and nearby Camden, N.J., attempting to fight violent crime with scant resources, said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum.
"Tony Batts came there two years ago with a vision and today he does not have the resources to carry out what he envisioned," said Wexler, who helped with the national search to bring Batts to Oakland from Long Beach.
Quan said during a hastily arranged news conference on Tuesday that she spoke with Batts about his intention to step down.
"I didn't ask him to leave but if he were to leave, this would be a good time so that somebody else can move this next phase forward," said Quan, who abruptly left the news conference amid a barrage of unanswered questions from reporters.
Batts is considering taking a position at Harvard University, according to the Oakland Tribune. City Council President Larry Reid believes that Assistant Chief Howard Jordan, who was interim chief before Batts was hired, will take over.
Meanwhile, Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente told KGO-TV that Batts was increasingly frustrated as he sought to get the City Council to consider adopting a city curfew and expanding Oakland's controversial gang injunction ordinance.
"He wanted to do what he did in Long Beach," De La Fuente said. "The reality is, I don't care how anybody wants to put it, we didn't give him the tools to do it and we should be accountable for that."
Reid said Tuesday he recalled telling Batts two years ago there would be bouts of frustration because of some in City Hall will try to "micromanage" him.
"He thought the micromanagement was going to continue," Reid said. "He's been in law enforcement for 29 years. You either let him be the police chief or else!"
In his resignation letter, Batts praised his officers.
"I ask that all of you continue to stand tall and proud during these very trying times," he wrote. "You are not thanked nor praised enough for what you produce with such little resources and equipment."
