Internal Affairs Complaint Alleges Oakland Police Chief Untruthful About ICE Raid

OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Oakland's police chief is accused of not telling the truth about a recent immigration raid.

The internal affairs complaint was just filed.

Brian Hofer is the chair of Oakland's Privacy Commission and one of eight people who filed the complaint accusing the chief of "untruthfulness."

"She needs to be held accountable," Hofer said.

After an ICE raid in Oakland on August 16, federal agents detained a Guatemalan national who they say was in the country illegally. Oakland police officers helped block traffic during the raid, and that is what sparked the controversy.

Oakland's Sanctuary City policy prohibits police from assisting ICE officers where the only objective is to discover whether an individual is in violation of a civil immigration law.

After the raid, Chief Ann Kirkpatrick said in a statement that it was a criminal investigation, not a civil immigration or deportation action.

"Only one person has been charged with a crime," Kirkpatrick said.

In fact, public records show the man has not been charged with a crime.

The chief also said, "There is not a deportation matter in this case."

But the complaint alleges that is also false.

Homeland Security records show the man was taken "into custody for removal proceedings" the day of the arrest.

Hofer said, "She knew at that time that that statement was untrue."

Oakland police would not comment on the internal affairs complaint Monday, though in a report to city council, the chief stated, "OPD has fully complied with all City of Oakland resolutions concerning the status of Oakland as a sanctuary city."

The complaint also accuses the chief of telling City Council that OPD had severed a partnership with ICE, but failing to officially terminate it for weeks afterward.

The chief will address the allegations at next week's Public Safety Committee meeting.