Police officer promotion lists revisited

Newport Beach’s police chief is asking the city to extend the candidacy for officers up for promotions into late 2009, a reversal of his earlier stance that could particularly benefit one sergeant, who recently won a $1.2-million lawsuit against the city for not being promoted.

Police Chief John Klein has asked the Civil Service Board to extend the list of promotions for sergeants, lieutenants and captains for three months each, to Oct. 16, Nov. 4 and Dec. 3, respectively. All three lists are scheduled to expire by early September and would force the candidates to go through promotional testing and interviews again, with different officers possibly rising to the top. The board is scheduled to vote on the extension at its meeting Wednesday.

In an April 6 memo to all police employees, Klein announced he was suspending all promotions while the city investigated the Police Department’s promotional process. It wouldn’t make sense to promote officers under the very system they were questioning, he said. The Police Management Assn., which represents sergeants and all higher-ranking police officers, requested the investigation.

Klein added in the days after his announcement that he wouldn’t extend the promotions. At the time, city officials said the investigation was likely to last six to nine months, meaning all the officers on the lists would have to retest, and some eligible candidates could potentially lose their chance to move up in the department. There were no vacant commanding positions available at the time, and none appeared on the horizon, Klein said. In the staff report to the civil service board, Klein cites two factors that have changed his position.

First, Lt. Steve Shulman announced his retirement within days of Klein announcing the suspended promotions.

The development was magnified because the No. 1-ranked candidate on the promotional list for lieutenant, Sgt. Neil Harvey, won a $1.2-million lawsuit against the city for not promoting him based on discrimination and retaliation. If the city does not extend the list with Harvey on it and he doesn’t make the list after everyone retests, they have kept him or someone else from filling a spot that was rightfully theirs before Klein suspended promotions.

Second, with the investigation’s conclusion weeks away — not months as originally projected — current candidates could miss their chance by a matter of days. The sergeants’ list expires July 16, the lieutenants’ list Aug. 4, and the captains’ list Sept. 3.

Dave Syvock, president of the Police Employees Assn., which represents rank-and-file officers and non-sworn department employees, said his union asked Klein to look into extending the promotions.

“We have five members on the list who were affected. It’s not fair for them to be affected for the [police managers’ union] asking for an investigation,” he said. “Once it affected our membership, we felt we had to get involved ... we just want our members to have an opportunity to promote.”

Timeline

Past: Newport Beach Police Chief John Klein suspends promotions April 6 because of an investigation into the process and says he will not extend lists with promotion candidates on it.

Present: Klein recommends to the Civil Service Board that the lists with promotion candidates on it be extended for three months, possibly reviving the candidates’ chance to promote after the investigation’s nearing conclusion.

Future: The Civil Service Board will vote on whether to extend the lists of promotions Wednesday with the conclusion to the investigation only weeks away.