City Council Holds Off On Police Chief Appointment

BERKELEY, CA — Amid allegations of police misconduct, the Berkeley City Council on Tuesday evening postponed making interim Police Chief Jennifer Louis's job permanent, according to the City Clerk's office.

Also, the police sergeant at the center of the misconduct allegations stepped down from his post as president of the Berkeley Police Association, the union representing the department's roughly 150 police officers.

Sgt. Darren Kacalek allegedly sent text messages that were racist and anti-homeless and may have established an arrest quota. Kacalek is the supervisor for the Downtown Task Force/Bike Unit, which consists of six officers and two sergeants.

"Today, BPA president Darren Kacalek's requested a leave of absence from the association board," said board Vice President Sgt. Scott Castle in a statement Wednesday. "In light of allegations about inappropriate text messages, we have accepted his request."

In one message from Kacalek, he appears to repost a message from a person selling their "white privilege card," according to the website for Secure Justice, a nonprofit that opposes state abuse of power and which published some of the messages.

"I may even be willing to do an even trade for a race card," the post says.

In another text, Kacalek said, "81 arrests! We can do 19 by Friday for sure!"

Kacalek sent the allegedly inappropriate messages when Louis was a captain and she may have known about them yet did nothing, according to a statement from Nathan Mizell, who is vice chair of the Berkeley Police Accountability Board. Mizell's allegations do not necessarily represent the view of the board.

Louis on Tuesday denied she knew about the alleged misconduct. Louis through a city spokesperson said she became aware of the messages last Thursday.

Louis added that the alleged misconduct did not occur under her supervision.

"I was the Captain in charge of the Operations Division until January 2018, which was before any of the incidents in this subunit allegedly occurred," Louis said. "I was appointed as Interim Chief in March 2021, after these alleged incidents occurred."

She said the allegations are "extremely concerning, and they deserve to be investigated thoroughly."

Berkeley officials did not immediately respond to an email asking whether Kacalek will be suspended from the police force.

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