Oakland Police Sgt. Derwin Longmire is a 22-year veteran of the department. His friendship with Yusuf Bey IV, CEO of the bankrupt Your Black Muslim Bakery, raised eyebrows in some quarters following the interrogation of Devaughndre Broussard, the alleged killer of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey.

The 19-year-old Broussard, a bakery handyman, was swept up with Bey and several others in police raids on Aug. 3, 2007, the day after Bailey was gunned down near the newspaper. Broussard initially denied involvement.

Longmire, the lead investigator, placed Bey in the interrogation room alone with Broussard for about 10 minutes. Shortly afterward, Broussard confessed to Bailey’s killing. Though tape recording interrogations is the preferred practice among many law enforcement agencies, the Oakland police recorded only Broussard’s confession, and a conversation in which Longmire and Bey discussed their friendship.

Longmire and his superiors have defended the department’s failure to tape record the conversation between Bey and Broussard, as well as the decision to place Longmire on the case despite his friendship with Bey and bakery associates. Longmire contended that it is difficult to gain trust of suspects if they know they are being recorded. Critics allege incompetence, arguing that Broussard’s attorney can claim police had coerced the defendant.