There is a crisis in the Oakland Police Department involving multiple officers and a young prostitute. A scandal developed when Celeste Guap, 18, admitted that she’d had sex with at least 14 officers in the Oakland Police Department and another 11 from other departments, starting when she was as young as 16. Guap is the daughter of a police dispatcher. The scandal has led to the resignation of two officers and the placement of another three on administrative leave while the sexual misconduct case is being investigated. One officer, Brendan O’Brien, committed suicide in September 2015 and admitted in a note that he and other officers had sex with Guap.
The scandal led to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf firing a total of three police chiefs. This week, she announced that interim Police Chief Ben Fairow has been removed from his job after information came to light that led her to lose confidence in Fairow’s ability to lead the beleaguered department. The move to fire Fairow comes six days after he was appointed as interim chief. Schaaf said she should have taken more time to investigate Fairow and called his appointment a mistake, but stated personnel laws prohibited her from elaborating on why she felt compelled to remove him. “I own the mistake I made. The important thing is I’m trying to fix it and fix it quickly,” said Schaaf.
This is the latest blow for the OPD, which is currently under federal investigation for misconduct. Claims of misconduct include failure to adequately hold officers accountable for misdeeds that included planting evidence and robbing residents in predominantly black west Oakland. Oakland. Police Assistant Chief Paul Figueroa has now been named interim chief.
“I remain as determined as ever to insure that this department has a culture that does not tolerate immoral behavior, bad judgment or disrespect and certainly does not tolerate victimization of sexually exploited minors,” said Schaaf.
Teen prostitute sues, says Oakland police officers were her biggest clients
