Police chief on leave over complex investigation involving teenage daughter
By Kate Larsen
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RICHMOND, California (KGO) — Richmond Police Chief Bisa French has been placed on paid administrative leave for allegedly making threats. There’s now an investigation involving her daughter, across three East Bay police departments. Chief French has overseen the officers of Contra Costa County’s second-biggest city since last year.
According to the Bay Area News group, her husband, Oakland Police Sgt. Lee French, is also on leave for his involvement.
ABC7 spoke to Chief French’s attorney Wednesday night, who says this is all over the couple’s 18-year-old daughter. They claim she’s been manipulated into prostitution by an older man, 34-year-old Joe Goldman.
Vallejo police are investigating an incident at Goldman’s mother’s home in Vallejo.
French’s attorney Michael Rains explained what his client says happened: “They had gone to this guy’s mother, and talked to her and tried to get his mom to just say, ‘look, would you tell your son to please give us our daughter back? That’s all we want, we want our daughter back.’ As a result of that conversation, his parents, the mom, made complaints that they threatened to do something to the son.”
The Bay Area News group cites court documents that say French’s daughter asked for a restraining order last week after she accused her parents of pinning her down and making death threats against her. The restraining order was temporarily denied. On the same day, Goldman was arrested by US Marshalls in Richmond and charged with pimping and pandering the 18-year-old.
French’s attorney says the teenager graduated Magna Cum Laude from high school and says her mother is upset Goldman turned her against her own family.
“My discussions with her have been, you know, those of a mother who is worried about her daughter and what’s happened to her,” he said. “She’s not sitting there fretting over, ‘what does this mean for my job, what does this mean for my career?’ That’s the least of her concerns. Her concerns are her daughter.”
The City of Richmond confirmed that Chief French is on leave “because of an unfolding family situation.” In a statement, the city manager said, “It’s imperative that we let the investigations play out without distraction and in accordance with established protocols that assure an objective assessment of the facts.”
In another twist, the Bay Area News Group says Oakland police chief, Leronne Armstrong, has been questioned about a conversation he had with Vallejo’s police chief about the case.
ABC7 has reached out to Oakland and Vallejo PD for comment.
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