For reasons that he did not share publicly, Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell is leaving his post after less than a year and a half on the job, which leaves Oakland once again in search of a new police chief.

The city of Oakland has had quite a few chiefs leading its police department in the last two decades. They don't tend to last long in the job — on average, about two years, with 12 different people holding the post since 2000. And the latest, who was hired after an arduous and controversial selection process under the previous mayor — who was, herself, recalled amid scandal — is saying his goodbyes after just 17 months on the job.

Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell announced Wednesday morning that he was resigning, effective in December.

Mitchell issued a statement that gives no reason for his departure.

"It has been an honor to serve the Oakland community, and I am grateful for the support I've received from the residents," Mitchell said in the statement. "I'm incredibly proud of the men and women of this Department and the collaborative working relationships forged with the community and business owners to reduce crime. My commitment over the weeks ahead is to help ensure a smooth transition and continue to keep Oakland safe."

Mayor Barbara Lee, who has only had her current job a few months, may or may not have had something to do with Mitchell's departure. She issued a statement thanking him for his service and adding that, since he began working in Oakland in May 2024, there have been "significant reductions in crime."

But KTVU spoke to a source who said that Mitchell was "not very responsive to her," and that he tended to make decisions without consulting the mayor. So there's a clue.

Jim Chanin, a civil rights attorney who dealt with Mitchell and the department with regard to the ongoing, 20-year-long federal oversight burden that it has been dealing with, tells KTVU, "I don't think he wanted to be a chief in California," and, "He seemed to be unhappy here."

Mitchell previously worked as chief of police in Lubbock, Texas, and was hired last year after a 15-month selection process in which the Oakland Police Commission appeared to be slow-walking their decision-making, after multiple commissioner clashed with former Mayor Sheng Thao over the 2023 firing of former chief LeRonne Armstrong, who had been with the department for many years.

This is a developing story.