Holly MatkinRichmond, CA – Richmond Police Chief Bisa French has been placed on paid administrative leave amid allegations she and her husband attacked and threatened their 18-year-old daughter, who they said is being manipulated by a pimp boyfriend.
The City of Richmond confirmed Chief French’s leave on Thursday, KTVU reported.
Her husband, Oakland Police Sergeant Lee French, has also been placed on leave by his department, according to KPIX.
Chief French and Sgt. French’s 18-year-old daughter claimed the couple threatened to kill her and her 34-year-old boyfriend, Joe Goldman, who was arrested on charges of pimping and pandering in Alameda County on Wednesday, KTVU reported.
The charges against Goldman involved the chief’s family member, according to KPIX.
Their daughter claimed Chief French and Sgt. French pinned her down using “police holds” during an argument in September, KTVU reported.
She further alleged her parents have threatened to kill her and Goldman.
Police in Vallejo are also investigating an alleged incident involving Chief French and Sgt. French at Goldman’s mother’s house, KPIX reported.
An internal investigation was opened at the Oakland Police Department (OPD) after Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams contacted Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong about the allegations.
Chief French said Goldman is manipulating their daughter into prostitution, KTVU reported.
The couple “wanted nothing other than to get (their family member) back and get her away from this despicable human being and have made lawful efforts to achieve that,” their attorney, Michael Rains, told the news outlet.
“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,’” Rains told KGO. “As a result of that conversation, his parents, the mom, made complaints that they threatened to do something to the son.”
Rains noted the Frenches’ daughter, who graduated from high school Magna Cum Laude, has been turned against her own family due to Goldman’s manipulation, KGO reported.
She recently petitioned the court for a restraining order against her parents, but it was temporarily denied.
Chief French is “a mother who is worried about her daughter and what’s happened to her,” he added. “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.”
According to the City of Richmond, Chief French was placed on paid leave due to “an unfolding family situation,” KGO reported.
“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,” the city manager told the news outlet.
Acting Chief Louie Tirona will lead the Richmond Police Department while Chief French is on leave, KPIX reported.
