Newport Beach promotes five police officers

Five Newport Beach police officers were promoted Monday morning at a

formal ceremony at the Police Department.

Scott McKnight, Joe Thrasher, Ron Vallercamp and Dennis Birch were

promoted to the rank of sergeant, while John Freeman was promoted to the

rank of lieutenant. Also, Officer Joe Cartwright, a former Los Angeles

police officer, was sworn in at the ceremony to fill a vacant position.

The promotions were a result of a few retirements that became

effective Jan. 2. Among those who retired were Sgt. Ron Rodgers, Sgt. Ken

Cowell, Sgt. Mike McDonough and Lt. Jim Carson. Each of them served

between 28 and 30 years with the department.

The changes were also partially caused by the Jan. 1 annexation of

Newport Coast, officials said.