‘Makes People at Ease’ : ‘Cowboy Cop’ Has Look of the Past and Town Loves It

He looked like Gary Cooper in “High Noon” standing in the middle of this sleepy old town’s main street.

Police Chief Lonny Hurlbut, 49, was wearing a black cowboy hat, an open shirt, black vest, faded jeans, cowboy boots. His .357 magnum rested in a holster hanging from his belt.

Hurlbut always dresses like an old-time western sheriff.

“I have a dress uniform with the stars and gold stripes. It cost me $400, but I never wear it,” said Hurlbut, police chief at historic San Juan Bautista, population 1,400, for the last three years.

Shortly after he became chief, he dressed up like an Old West sheriff for a local fiesta. Townspeople at the time suggested he dress like that all the time. So he has.

‘I’m no Threat to Anybody’

“It fits this old-time town. It makes people at ease. I’m no threat to anybody. People love it,” he said. “Everybody calls me Lonny. Kids come running over to greet me when they see me.”

“When I go to police chief meetings, I dress like this. The other chiefs can’t believe it. They call me the ‘Cowboy Cop.’ ”

His mode of dress does fit in with the surroundings. The town is the site of Mission San Juan Bautista, founded in 1797 and the largest of the California missions. It is also the location of San Juan Bautista State Park, which includes several historic buildings, vintage 1840s to 1860s, around a picturesque plaza.

The first Saturday of every month history buffs from all over the state come to the tiny town’s state park for reenactments of events from California’s past. The police chief often takes part, wearing his usual garb.

The other two officers and 10 reservists on the small force always wear conventional police uniforms when on duty.

Lucky to Have Him

“We’re lucky to have Lonny as chief,” insisted Mayor Ann Baccala, 74. “He walks the downtown streets every day talking to everyone he encounters.

“He is cordial and friendly. People like that in a small town. The kids are nuts about him.”

Baccala said Hurlbut had an opportunity two years ago to double his salary and receive far greater benefits by going to work for Ford Motor Co. as a security supervisor.

At an emergency meeting of the Town Council packed with townspeople, the chief was asked to stay. He did.

“With that kind of emotional response from the people of San Juan Bautista, how could I react any other way?” he recalled. “I was paid $25,000 here last year. I could have made twice that at Ford, where I had worked for several years before. There’s more to life than money.”

Officers Meet Everybody

He insists his officers introduce themselves each day they are on duty to at least one person in town they have never met before. That’s 250 people a year, 500 in two years. In hardly any time at all, the chief figures, each officer will have met everyone in town.

Some in San Juan Bautista, 90 miles south of San Francisco, say Hurlbut ought to ride a horse while on duty.

“I learned how to ride a horse, so I could ride one in parades. But you don’t do police work riding a horse, other than traffic patrols in big cities. Anyway, the town can’t afford to feed and care for a horse,” the chief said.