.Sean Whent Appears to be the Right Choice to Lead OPD

Some news media have portrayed the rapid change in leadership at the Oakland Police Department this week as evidence that the city is in “crisis.” And while it’s clear that OPD has been in crisis for a long time, the selection of Deputy Chief Sean Whent to take over as interim police chief today, replacing Acting Chief Anthony Toribio just two days after he took over for retiring Chief Howard Jordan, is a smart choice. In fact, the mistake that Mayor Jean Quan and City Administrator Deanna Santana made was that they should have appointed Whent to the top job on Wednesday.