Torrance Receives 19 Applications for Police Chief’s Post

Nineteen applicants are under consideration for the job of Torrance police chief, including six current employees of the city’s Police Department.

City officials say they expect a new chief to be named by late September to replace longtime Chief Donald E. Nash, who stepped down in June. The final choice is to be made by City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson.

Several City Council members and the Torrance police union have said they hope the new chief will come from the Police Department’s ranks. Torrance historically has filled the chief’s position from within.

But the council voted in May to open up the search to outside candidates, and the city is using a Sacramento-based recruiting firm to help screen applications.

One of the job’s requirements--that an applicant have a state police certificate--has essentially limited the search to California.

Seventeen people from outside the department applied for the chief’s job, but four have been eliminated from consideration because they lack that certificate, City Civil Service Administrator William L. Ghio said.

Ghio said he expects a few more candidates to apply. He speculated that interest in the job may have been quelled by negative publicity Torrance police recently received because of a lawsuit against the department, as well as by the ongoing controversy surrounding the Los Angeles Police Department because of the Rodney G. King beating.

Applicants may also be discouraged by the high cost of housing in the South Bay, Ghio and others said.

City officials said they are satisfied with the number of applications.

Councilman Tim Mock, who heads the council’s Public Safety Committee, said: “It’s a good enough group. It depends on the qualifications, if it’s a good field.”

And Mayor Katy Geissert said: “I think the key would be the quality of the individuals and the diversity.”

Several other mid-size Southern California cities have searched for new police chiefs in recent months. Two of those cities--Irvine and Santa Monica--received more than 70 applications. Pasadena got 29 applications. Burbank got 32 in a search last year.

Irvine and Santa Monica conducted national searches. Pasadena focused its recruiting effort on Western states. Burbank mainly got applicants from California because, like Torrance, it expressed a preference for those with a state police certificate.

Ghio defended the city’s decision to restrict the search to California candidates.

“If we can draw a person from California, they’re going to have a leg up on someone from Texas or New York,” he said.

Some city officials said they are surprised that only six Police Department employees applied. The department’s five captains and 13 lieutenants are potentially eligible for the job.

“Frankly, I felt there might be more,” said Capt. Jim Weyant, who confirmed that he is one of the candidates.

Lt. Robert Armstrong, Capt. Nolan Dane, Lt. Paul Nowatka and Lt. Susan Rhilinger confirmed that they have applied, leaving one of the in-house applicants unidentified.

City officials declined to release the names of any applicants.

Nash, a 42-year department veteran and chief for 21 years, stepped down in June after suffering heart problems. Nash remains under investigation by the county district attorney in the wake of disclosures that he underpaid sales tax on two used cars.

Applications for the chief’s job were due last Friday. A review panel of municipal officials from outside the city will interview those considered the strongest candidates, and Jackson is to make the final choice from among five to nine finalists. The job pays between $78,252 and $95,112, depending on experience.

Ghio said the city would have received more applicants before recent media coverage of the wrongful-death suit against the city brought by the family of Kelly Rastello, a 19-year-old motorcyclist killed in 1984 in a collision with Rollo Green, an off-duty Torrance police sergeant.

The city agreed in May to pay $6.5 million to the Rastello family after a jury concluded that the department had a “custom and policy” of condoning and covering up misbehavior by its officers.

Ghio called that “an unfortunate, unfair decision” that may have hurt the department’s image. “I’m sure it’s affected some people’s decision whether they want to be chief here,” he said.

Geissert added: “I believe it is a very attractive job, but publicity might have given some potential candidates second thoughts.”

Ghio also said interest in the job may have been dampened by the uproar sparked by the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney G. King by LAPD officers, which has raised a host of questions about police attitudes toward minorities.

Irvine City Manager Paul Brady Jr. agreed about the potential impact of the King case, saying, “I think it’s a difficult time in the police profession. A lot of questions are being asked. . . . A lot of people are sitting tight. People who might consider making a job change would think twice unless their situation is intolerable.”

The recruiting firm helping Torrance in its search, Ralph Andersen & Associates, has found fewer people are seeking executive posts in local government--whether for police chiefs, city managers or water district managers.

“The number of people who apply for those positions are fewer than there were even a year ago,” said Bob Murray, the firm’s senior vice president. He said a weak economy may be to blame.