Chief LeRonne L. Armstrong was born and raised in West Oakland, California, and is a graduate of McClymonds High School. Chief Armstrong attended California State University, Sacramento, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership.
After graduating college, Chief Armstrong returned home to Oakland where he started his career in public service by joining the Alameda County Juvenile Probation Department. For four years, Armstrong served as a positive role model and provided mentorship for young people living in the same marginalized communities where he grew up. This is where he made the commitment and began the effort to make his community safer.
In 1999, Chief Armstrong joined the Oakland Police Department (OPD) as a police officer. During his 22-year career, he has served in several assignments before being promoted to Chief of Police. He started in patrol, worked as a Problem-Solving Officer, supervised the Gang Intelligence Task Force, and was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division. He was also a Watch Commander, Commander of the Youth and School Safety Section, Special Resource Commander, Area Commander, and the Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Division.
Chief Armstrong is a graduate of the nationally acclaimed P.E.R.F. (Police Executive Research Forum) Senior Management Institute for Police Executives (S.M.I.P), California POST Leadership School, and the FBI National Academy Session 261. He is a California POST-certified instructor in Procedural Justice and Principled Policing where he is recognized as a California P.O.S.T. Subject Matter Expert. Chief Armstrong is one of the original officers assigned to work on the Oakland Ceasefire Strategy which has reduced violent crime by more than 50% since 2012 and remains as Co-Chair of the Ceasefire Steering Committee. Chief Armstrong leads OPD’s Stop-Data Collection Project which has been recognized nationally for OPD’s implementation of strategies that have reduced the number of OPD traffic stops by 60% since 2016 and stops of African Americans by over 50%. Chief Armstrong has been called upon to train and testify before the State of California’s R.I.P.A board on the Oakland Police Department’s Stop-Data program. He served as the department’s liaison to Stanford University S.P.A.R.K.S. Program and led the implementation of all 50 Stanford recommendations to increase trust from the “Strategies” report.
Chief Armstrong has been the subject of multiple news articles regarding “Black Officers Policing in America” and he’s one of the featured officers in the award-winning documentary “The Force”. He was the former President of the Oakland Black Officers Association and continues to lead the Oakland Police Department's trust-building efforts city-wide. Chief Armstrong resides in Oakland with his wife and two daughters. Chief Armstrong’s career has always been inspired by the idea of being a part of the change you want to see in OPD!
On February 8, 2021, Mayor Libby Schaaf and Oakland Police Comission Chair Regina Jackson swore-in LeRonne L. Armstrong as Chief of the Oakland Police Department.