NAACP says rise in crime due to firing of Oakland police chief

(KRON) — The local NAACP says crime is surging in Oakland because Mayor Sheng Thao fired former Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong back in February.

In a letter released over the weekend, the organization points out that the mayor wants to get to the root causes of crime in the city, but they say the mayor needs to look in the mirror to do that.

Data from the Oakland Police Department shows crime is up 28 percent overall this year compared to the same period last year. Violent crime is up 17 percent while slayings are down 8 percent.

Mayor Thao had no comment on Tuesday following the letter from the NAACP.