[Yesterday, in Part 2, Chief talked about the importance of a District Attorney bringing appropriate charges against criminal defendants, which brought up the subject of Pamela Price.]

[We began by talking about Chief Armstrong’s reaction to the Police Commission including him on its list to be the new Chief—a list Thao wouldn’t even consider.]

[Editor: This is part 1 of my conversation with former Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. We sat with our coffee as he spoke to a variety of issues that have dominated media coverage lately. This transcript is mostly verbatim; I have lightly edited it for clarity.]

He’s an obvious choice. No one has done a better job of trying to rescue Oakland from the blight of crime than former Chief Armstrong. He is “former” because, of course, Sheng Thao unjustly fired him, which is a main reason why we’re going to recall her.

Pro-homeless types are freaking out that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Johnson vs. Grants Pass, Oregon. At long last, we’re going to see a resolution of a question municipalities like Oakland have dodged for years: Does a city have the right to manage homeless encampments on public property, or is it helpless in the face of the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment?