2 Oakland Police Officers Face On-Duty DUI Charges, Drawing Concerns From DA

Updated 4:40 p.m. Monday

After filing DUI charges against two Oakland police officers, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is asking the city’s new police chief to step up to address what she describes as a spike in officers driving drunk on the job.

At a press conference on Monday, Price confirmed the charges against the officers, whose cases are pending, and read from a new letter in which she urged department leaders to address officer behavior, saying the on-duty arrests are a “substantial and sudden increase and represent an alarming trend within the Oakland Police Department.” Her focus on police misconduct is intensifying alongside discord with the county’s police unions, all 14 of which have come out in support of her recall this November.

Price spoke generally and declined to share specifics about the incidents, which came to light in news reports last week describing the arrests of Officers Nathaniel Walker and Trevor Harley.

In the most recent complaint, filed Sept. 19, the district attorney’s office accuses Harley of driving with an open container and a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or more in October 2023.

Prosecutors accuse Walker of two incidents; the first in March 2023, in which California Highway Patrol officers allegedly stopped him after observing him driving more than 95 mph without tail lights on. Walker allegedly told them he was an OPD officer driving home after getting off from work. During field sobriety tests, law enforcement observed “red and watery eyes, slow and slurred speech, and a noticeable odor of alcohol emanating from his breath and person,” according to court documents. His blood alcohol was recorded at 0.28%.

The following month, he was stopped again — this time while driving a patrol vehicle — and again failed field and blood-alcohol level tests, according to Price’s office.

In her letter to Chief Floyd Mitchell, who was hired in the spring after more than a yearlong search, and Acting Chief James Beere, who is temporarily leading the department while Mitchell completes state-mandated training, Price said she wants them to develop and implement clear policies related to on- and off-duty intoxication, citing OPD’s “documented history of mishandling disciplinary matters.”

“As you know, my office cannot act to hold officers appropriately accountable if the responsible agency does not conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of the officers’ behavior,” Price said. “Having police officers intoxicated while on or off-duty represents a clear and present danger to the officer and the public.”

Last month, in the latest chapter of OPD’s more than 20-year struggle to emerge from federal oversight following a police misconduct settlement in the Riders case, a court ordered the chief of police to personally oversee the department’s investigations into OPD officers. In the order, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said he could “no longer tolerate the lack of integrity, consistency, and transparency with which Internal Affairs has operated.”

The police chief is now required to discuss how the department is policing itself with city leaders every two weeks, alongside regular updates to the court. OPD still has yet to complete the last two of 55 court-ordered reforms related to the internal affairs investigations of officers suspected of on-the-job misconduct and ensuring that officers are disciplined consistently regardless of their race.

Price has said tension with the county’s police unions stems from her bringing criminal charges against law enforcement officers who killed civilians in the line of duty, something Price’s predecessor Nancy O’Malley did once during her nearly 14 years in office. Police unions have accused her of failing to hold criminals accountable for their actions.

In a statement, an OPD spokesperson said neither Chief Mitchell nor Assistant Chief Beere had received the letter from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. The department said it’s aware of the allegations made against its members and is cooperating with our outside law enforcement agencies on each case.

“The employees in question were placed on administrative leave in June of 2023 and October of 2023, and the matters are under investigation,” the statement read.

The Oakland Police Officers Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Court records show Harley is due in court on Oct. 31 for arraignment. Walker next appears on Nov. 8 for a pretrial hearing related to his two DUIs, which have been consolidated into one case.