Lt. Charles Gibson Retires After 30 Years with Oakland Police Department

Lt. Charles Gibson Retires After 30 Years with Oakland Police Department


(Oakland, CA) Oakland City Councilmember Desley Brooks and Police Service Area 5 (PSA 5) bid good bye to one of Oakland Police Department’s (OPD) finest. Lt. Charles Gibson is leaving OPD to become Chief of Police at Contra Costa County College District.

“Lt. Gibson has been an absolute joy to work with” said Councilmember Brooks. “He has a real concern for the people in this City which he demonstrated everyday he came to work, he will be sorely missed.” Lt. Gibson is currently the Area Commander for PSA 5. PSA 5 includes Council Districts 4, 5, 6 and 7. In addition to his duties as Area Commander for PSA 5, Lt. Gibson also headed the Service Delivery Systems 5 (SDS 5) team. This team brings together various departments of the City to problem solve issues within the Service Area. During Lt. Gibson’s tenure the team had a number of successes.

Lt. Gibson was innovative in his policing style. He would listen to the concerns of citizens and try to find solutions to their problems. Lt. Gibson heard a number of residents complain that OPD was so busy working on the “big” problems that they often overlooked the “little” ones. To address this concern, Lt. Gibson instituted “Quality of Life Day” in PSA 5. On this day, his team would dedicate their time to addressing the “little” problems in the neighborhood such as street gambling, loitering and general nuisance activity. Quality of Life day was well received by the residents who said it made all the difference to the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

Lt. Gibson is a native New Orleanian who moved to Oakland in the early 1970’s. He began his career with OPD as a civilian jailer in 1975. Over the years he worked his way up from this position to Lieutenant of Police, Area and Watch Commander and Acting Captain of Police. Chief Gibson will start his new position in February.

To thank Lt. Gibson for his service and congratulate him on his new position, Councilmember Brooks, Lt. James Meeks, Neighborhood Service Coordinators Araina Richards and Karen Harris, along with Margaret Dixon and a host of family and friends are hosting a retirement celebration.

The celebration will be held January 26, 2006, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The celebration will be held at the Oakland Police Officers Association offices at 555 – 5th Avenue in Oakland.

Tickets for the event are $25.00; this includes dinner. To purchase tickets call Councilmember Brooks at (510) 238-7006 or Araina Richards at (510) 777-8712.