The Latest: Oakland loses 3rd police chief amid scandals

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Latest on the scandal-plagued Oakland Police Department (all times local):

10:15 p.m.

Oakland has lost its third police chief in eight days as it struggles with allegations that a number of officers had sex with a teenage prostitute and exchanged racist text messages.

Mayor Libby Schaaf said Friday that acting Police Chief Paul Figueroa was on the job for two days before stepping down but said his decision was not connected to the two scandals.

Schaaf said she will not immediately appoint an acting or interim chief. Instead, the command staff will report to City Administrator Sabrina Landreth, who will be responsible for personnel and disciplinary decisions.

The police department was already engulfed by the sex scandal when Schaaf revealed Friday a separate investigation into racist text messages.

She denounced the department’s “toxic, macho culture” and vowed to root out “the bad apples.”

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7:30 p.m.

Another Oakland police chief has stepped down after two days on the job.

Acting Police Chief Paul Figueroa is the third chief to be replaced in nine days amid a sex scandal that the city’s mayor said involved “disgusting allegations” that a number of officers had sex with a teenage prostitute.

Mayor Libby Schaaf said Friday her job is to “run a police department, not a frat house.”

She appointed Figueroa on Wednesday after abruptly removing the interim police chief, Ben Fairow, after learning unspecified information that led her to lose confidence in his ability to lead the beleaguered department. She had appointed Fairow after Chief Sean Whent suddenly resigned June 9.

Two officers with the troubled Oakland department have resigned amid the sex scandal, and three others remain on paid leave.