https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/anne-kirkpatrick-oakland-new-orleans-19619140.php

Former Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick struck two pedestrians in New Orleans while driving Saturday, according to New Orleans police.

Local news outlets in New Orleans, including NOLA, had reports Saturday about the incident involving Kirkpatrick, who is that city’s police superintendent.

Kirkpatrick hit a man and a woman around 7 p.m. Saturday, said public information officer Reese Harper. The superintendent was on duty and was returning home from visiting an injured officer when the accident happened, Harper said. Emergency personnel transported the woman to a hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and was released, Harper said. The man was not injured, police said.

Kirkpatrick took a breathalyzer and urinalysis, and the breathalyzer returned a zero, according to Harper. The urinalysis results will be returned within a few days.

Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, was fired from the Oakland Police Department in 2020 but later won a settlement for wrongful termination. Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, was fired from the Oakland Police Department in 2020 but later won a settlement for wrongful termination.

David Grunfeld/Associated Press 2023 Kirkpatrick was the Oakland Police Department’s police chief starting in 2017, but the city’s Police Commission voted unanimously to fire her in 2020 after months of tension over her handling of federally mandated reforms. Two years later, a jury found that she was wrongfully fired and the city agreed to pay $1.5 million to cover her salary and legal fees.

The Oakland mayor, city administrator and Police Commission have the authority to fire the police chief. The commission can remove the chief with cause if it has five votes, according to the City Charter. Without cause, however, the commission needs the approval of the mayor.

Kirkpatrick was the department’s 11th chief in 21 years. Since then, the agency has seen more turnover.

In February 2021, then-Mayor Libby Schaaf appointed LeRonne Armstrong as police chief. He took over from interim Chief Susan Manheimer — but was placed on leave in 2023 after a city investigation found he mishandled two officer misconduct cases. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao then fired Armstrong. This year, Thao appointed Floyd Mitchell, a former police chief in Texas, to be Oakland’s police chief.

Once the New Orleans Police Department completes its investigation of Kirkpatrick’s accident, the Louisiana State Police will review the findings, according to Harper.