Vallejo hires former Oakland police chief as senior advisor
The city of Vallejo announced Friday that it appointed former Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan to serve as a senior adviser to City Manager Greg Nyhoff.
Jordan was also named project manager for several police-related items, including the search for an interim Vallejo police chief and the recruitment of a permanent chief. He will also be the lead on the city’s work with the Department of Justice Community Relations Service.
“The city council and city manager have made it clear they are approaching an improvement in police community relations with an open mind and a sincere desire to make a positive impact,” Jordan said in a statement released by the city. “The city manager has outlined a strong agenda of initiatives, and I appreciate the trust he has placed in me to serve the people of Vallejo.”
Jordan is expected to begin his duties with the city of Vallejo on Monday. It wasn’t known before Friday’s press deadline how much Jordan will be paid in his senior adviser role.
Joanna Altman, assistant to the city manager, said a copy of Jordan’s contract would be provided next week, after the Times-Herald sought a copy of the document.
Altman said in a follow-up interview that Nyhoff interviewed Jordan this week for the position and the contract will be presented to the city for review on Monday or Tuesday.
Jordan’s appointment comes almost six years to the day after he abruptly resigned as Oakland’s police chief, citing a medical condition which forced him to depart. The Bay Area News Group reported days later that Jordan actually resigned after learning the department’s federal overseer was seeking to remove him as Oakland’s police chief.
Six months before that, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that while as police chief Jordan had used a filter on his email account to divert messages with “Occupy Oakland,” “respect the press pass,” “police brutality,” and “stop the excessive police force” in the headline to his junk mail folder.
He apparently never looked at those messages, which also included emails from city officials, and a federal court monitor, tasked at the time with overseeing the department’s compliance with court-ordered reforms, the Chronicle reported on Oct. 29, 2012.
His appointment with Vallejo comes amid demands from many in the community to reform the Vallejo Police Department after several high-profile incidents, including a handful of fatal officer-involved shootings over the past three years.
Vallejo police this week released body camera footage from the fatal February 2018 shooting of Vallejo resident Ronell Foster. Foster was shot multiple times by Vallejo officer Ryan McMahon after he chased Foster behind a building along Carolina Street in Vallejo.
Police said Foster took McMahon’s flashlight. Fearing for his life, the officer shot Foster.
In addition, last week the city hired Ralph Andersen & Associates to lead the search for the next Vallejo police chief after Andrew Bidou announced he would be retiring on June 30. Bidou served five years as Vallejo’s chief.
Finally, at the end of April, Vallejo City Hall confirmed it will work with the Department of Justice Community Relations Service to help the city “enhance the culture, policies and practices” of the Vallejo Police Department.
However, community members have asked if that will be enough to bring reform to the department.
Serving in a “peacemaker” role, the Community Relations Service is not a law enforcement authority, nor is it a investigatory or prosecutorial agency.
“The city has already taken bold steps to push forward on improved community relations with our police department, and Mr. Jordan will be a catalyst to our efforts,” Vallejo City Manager Greg Nyhoff said in the same statement released by City Hall on Friday. “There is a lot of work to be done, and I have confidence in Mr. Jordan’s intelligence and experience to help our community navigate these important public safety issues.”
Before becoming chief, Jordan a career Oakland officer worked in the criminal investigations division, was a Swat member and served as a deputy chief under Chief Wayne Tucker.