Two Oakland cops resign amid sexual misconduct investigation “Video”

Two of the four Oakland cops who were placed on leave as part of a sexual misconduct investigation have resigned, the department said Wednesday.

In statement, Oakland Police Public Information Officer Johnna Watson confirmed the officers has resigned and that the Internal Affairs Division would continue to investigate all of the misconduct allegations.

“The Oakland Police Department is committed to transparency. However, a complete investigative process requires confidentiality in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation,” said Watson. “For this reason, only those preliminary details that do not compromise the investigation can be released at this time.”

The officers were placed on leave following revelations that officers had sex with the underage daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher.

The accusations came to light following the suicide of Officer Brendan O’Brien last September. Investigators said O’Brien left a note that lead to an initial internal affairs investigation.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and police Chief Sean Whent held a news conference last week to discuss the investigation after details of the alleged misconduct surfaced in media reports.

Schaaf, who called the allegations “very disturbing,” 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.

Agencies/Canadajournal