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Oakland schools police chief retires in wake of slur complaint

on August 17, 2011

Oakland school district police chief Peter Sarna stepped down from the force today in the wake of a formal complaint filed against him in early August, school district spokesman Troy Flint announced this afternoon.

In a press release, Flint said that Sarna had retired and that the district had closed its investigation into allegations that Sarna had used racial epithets to refer to an African American school police officer. A complaint was filed against him on August 4.

The Oakland Unified School District operates its own small police force which maintains uniformed police officers at local high schools as well as tactical officers who serve the elementary and middle schools.

Sarna had previously served with the Oakland Police Department as well as with the state’s Justice Department before joining the school police force in June, 2009. Sarna resigned from his state position in 2007 shortly after he hit a tow truck with a state-owned vehicle and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, according to the Los Angeles Times.

1 Comment

  1. […] allegedly making racist remarks about African American officers after a charity golf tournament. Sarna resigned from his position on August 17 and the district has closed its investigation into the complaint against […]



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