Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts officially announced his resignation at a City Hall press conference Tuesday afternoon, saying he was taking a part-time teaching position at Harvard University, where he said he also plans to do research. Batts also blamed “city bureaucracy” for why he is leaving, essentially saying that he had too many bosses in Oakland.
Batts said that in any given week he has to check in with the federal court monitors overseeing Oakland police, the mayor’s office, the city administrator’s office, city councilmembers, the council’s Public Safety Committee, Measure Y officials, and the Citizens Police Review Board, among others. He said the police chief in Oakland is “held accountable, but does not have the power to make a positive impact.”
