Laying down the law

Greg Risling

When Robert Moody was named Claremont’s police chief after ascending

through the ranks in Costa Mesa, he figured one tug of the rip cord and

his proverbial parachute would open, making his final descent into

retirement a smooth one.

Instead, the last 13 months of Moody’s illustrious 42-year career in law

enforcement have been marked with controversy.

His department took searing heat from the community for an

officer-involved shooting of a black man -- an action deemed by some as

racially motivated.

Most recently, Moody was criticized for failing to conduct a thorough

background check of his handpicked replacement as he attempts to retire.

The Claremont City Council withdrew the offer to the prospective chief

when they learned he had a blemished record.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for the 65-year-old Moody, who

officially retired last month but remained on the force until an interim

chief could be found. He finally got word Thursday that he can pack the

last of his boxes.

But this isn’t how he planned to leave -- not on this note.

MAN IN BLUE

Moody has always had strong ties to the Newport-Mesa area. He graduated

from Newport Harbor High School and lived in Corona del Mar. Even after

leaving the department where he spent most of his career, Moody has two

relatives who work there. He still visits Orange County regularly. His

boat is docked in Dana Point.

If anyone bleeds orange, it’s Moody.

It seems like a lifetime ago when Moody was splitting his time between

working at a service station and a machinery plant. He knew a few police

officers and they told him about the benefits. Moody thought it was an

interesting vocation and became a reserve officer. He was hired by Costa

Mesa in June 1957.

“I liked the idea of not having the same routine every day,” Moody said.

“Every day something new could happen. It sounded exciting and I saw an

opportunity to do some good.”

Bright-eyed and focused, Moody was only 22 years old when he hit the

streets of Costa Mesa. The city then resembled Claremont today: a sleepy,

close-knit, low-crime area.

But Costa Mesa was expanding rapidly and so was the Police Department.

Moody caught the recruiting wave and rode it to a high-ranking position.

Within a couple years, his bosses took notice of his hard work and

promoted him to sergeant.

He thrived in the detective bureau where he spent most of his career and

was awarded lieutenant stripes. Amazingly, six years after he entered the

force, he was bumped up to captain.

During that time, Moody saw Costa Mesa endure the growing pains of a

suburban city: increased traffic and violent crime.

One of Moody’s last assignments as detective was a series of unsolved

murders that had paralyzed the county. Young women were being brutally

raped and killed, three of whom lived in Costa Mesa. Five women had died

at the hands of their assailant. Another woman, who was pregnant, was

left for dead. Her unborn child died in the grisly attack.

Moody never heard about the final outcome. The killer had been caught

several years ago and was sent to death row for his crimes. No one

thought to inform Moody, who was one of the lead investigators in the

Costa Mesa homicides.

“No one told me that they had caught the guy,” he said. “Those were some

terrible murders and it was quite stressful for us to find the killer

before he struck again.”

While solving crimes was a lucrative reward for Moody, his eye was on the

bounty prize -- being christened police chief. He had a chance when Chief

Robert Neth retired in late 1986. He applied for the job, but it was

given to an outside candidate, current Chief Dave Snowden.

Moody was devastated by the decision.

“I guess it wasn’t in the cards,” he said. “I was tremendously

disappointed. By that time, I had reached retirement age but I wasn’t

ready to go.”

Moody didn’t want to leave Costa Mesa, but the only challenge left was

running his own department. He applied to different cities and went

through a series of interviews.

In July 1989, the city of Claremont picked Moody as their new chief.

Costa Mesa had lost one of their long-standing officers.

“He was always a consummate professional,” said Snowden, who befriended

Moody. “It could have been an awkward situation between him and me, but

it was quite the contrary. He made the transition smooth and easy for

me.”

HOME SWEET HOME

Moody was fortunate to find a quaint town like Claremont in the urban

sprawl known as the greater Los Angeles area. Nestled at the foot of the

San Gabriel Mountains, the city has about 35,000 residents and sits on

the cusp of Los Angeles County. It is home to several colleges as well as

historic Route 66, which cuts through the town’s core.

City Hall in the heart of the business district, an area devoid of Home

Depots and Kmarts. Neighborhoods are shaded by arching trees with budding

branches draped over the streets. The city is lined with spacious parks

and a mix of Victorian and Spanish-themed homes.

Moody was impressed, to say the least. But little did he know the job

would be more demanding than he thought.

“I didn’t think the job would be as busy at it was,” he said. “The

citizens demand a lot out of their city employees. I saw a real challenge

here.”

His first order of business was to rearrange the internal structure of

the department. He dismantled the hierarchyof 10 commanders and gave them

lower ranks of lieutenant and sergeant. It may have not been a popular

move among officers, but Moody felt it would work better.

He reestablished the reserve police corps that was dormant for 15 years

and added a K-9 unit. During Moody’s tenure, the department was awarded a

grant to fund fingerprint machines and laptop computers for its 41

officers.

He helped start an adopt-a-cop program where officers would spend their

lunch hours with school kids. He also contributed to the creation of a

trauma intervention program that sent volunteers to incidents where

people needed consoling.

“We were able to accomplish a lot with the financial constraints of the

city,” Moody said. “I’m proud of what we have done here at the

department.”

Moody may not be remembered for the strides he made in Claremont, but

rather the fallout over a traffic stop gone wrong that left one young man

dead and a police department under heavy scrutiny.

UNDER FIRE

Moody can’t forget the night of Jan. 11, 1999. It rings in his head like

an alarm clock and has led to many sleepless nights.

He remembers receiving a call at his home informing him that a shooting

had occurred. He drove to the scene where he learned an 18-year-old

motorist had been shot by two of his officers. The victim was Irvin

Landrum Jr., a forklift driver and father of two.

Landrum was black. The officers, Hany Hanna and Kent Jacks, are white.

An investigation determined the officers shot in self-defense after

Landrum reportedly pulled a loaded handgun from his waistband.

The officers defended themselves by saying they saw a muzzle flash,

although forensic tests showed the gun was never fired. Fingerprints were

never found on the gun, giving some protesters the notion the gun was

planted. The officers were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.

“The officers responded the way they were trained,” Moody said. “I feel

very bad for the officers and have deep sympathy for the Landrum family.

But I know this was a justified shooting.”

Much like the infamous Rodney King case, the Claremont community was

ripped apart by racial strife over the shooting. And when the officers

were named city employees of the year, the controversy exploded like a

powder keg, leaving the department maligned and scorned.

“It definitely left a bad taste in people’s mouths,” said Mike Nunen, a

city activist who has followed the shooting closely. “The situation has

been very bad here. I think the shooting gave Moody a lot of incentive

for him to finally quit.”

Moody said he had decided to retire several months before the shooting.

He added that while some people lost faith in him, he was willing to take

the brunt of the criticism.

“You will always be criticized as a police officer,” he said. “If that

bothers you, you shouldn’t be in this profession.

“It is disheartening to know that you are devoted to your job but have an

element of your community calling you a Nazi and a racist. If there is

any department that is sensitive to the community needs, it’s ours.”

Claremont City Manager Glenn Southard defended his top law enforcement

officer, saying the people who protested department tactics were from

outside the community. He points out that more than 300 people attended

Moody’s retirement dinner last month.

Moody appeared to put the worst behind him until recently, when the

Claremont City Council withdrew their offer to the new police chief.

Moody conducted the background investigation on former Ripon Police Chief

Thomas Scheidecker, but failed to discover that the applicant had been

suspended for 15 days when he was employed by the Los Angeles Police

Department. An investigation showed Scheidecker had mishandled

confidential police documents and then tried to cover his tracks.

Nunen said City Manager Southard, not the police chief, has been the main

problem.

“Moody never did anything that wasn’t approved by Southard first,” he

added. “I think Moody was kept on a short leash. Moody has tried to do a

good job, but it was impossible to do under the city manager. I see Moody

as partly the victim in this whole mess.”

THE GOOD LIFE

The boxes are filled with photos and awards, a lifetime in law

enforcement now stuffed into his car.

Moody’s last day in office was Thursday, ending his six-week interim

stint. A retired police chief from Long Beach will assume his duties

until a permanent replacement can be found.

But Moody isn’t moving anywhere. He’s staying in the community that he

has grown fond of over the past 10 years.

Forty-two years of fighting crime hasn’t slowed him down. He plans to

continue working, this time as a mediator. He takes after his mother, who

worked as an interior decorator until she died at age 87.

Moody says he won’t let the pundits get the better of him. He can look

back on a long career filled with accolades and some pitfalls, but plans

to enjoy his well-deserved retirement.

“I don’t like to dwell on the few rocks on my road,” he said. “I’m not

made that way.”

PROFILE

NAME: Robert Moody

AGE: 65

CITY: Claremont

FAMILY: Married with two daughters and a son

WORK HISTORY: 32 years with the Costa Mesa Police Department and 10 years

as Claremont Police Chief

FUTURE PLANS: Mediation work and traveling the world