Acting Chief Wins Newport’s Top Police Post

Newport Beach’s Acting Police Chief Arb Campbell, pledging to improve the department’s image as overly aggressive, was named the city’s permanent chief Tuesday after a three-month national search.

City Manager Robert Wynn, who made the appointment, called Campbell, 47, “an outstanding choice” who “will do very well for the department and for the community of Newport Beach.”

Campbell had been the department’s acting chief since January, when former Police Chief Charles Gross retired after seven years on the job.

He takes over at a time when the department has been criticized as overzealous in its policing and enforcement policies.

A recent management audit of the department by the National League of Cities found that the department’s aggressive style should be re-examined in light of excessive lawsuits and complaints. More than 100 suits and claims alleging excessive force, false arrest or civil rights violations have been filed against the department in the last eight years.

“We have been talking since January how to go about improving the department’s image,” Campbell said this week. “I don’t mean to imply it’s a serious problem in our department, but some officers can use a little better discretion in enforcement tactics and improve their enforcement attitudes.”

Another question facing the new chief is what, if any, action must be taken against his colleague and friend, Newport Police Capt. Richard Hamilton, who has been on leave since he was arrested two weeks ago for shoplifting a pair of $20 pants.

Hamilton has applied for a stress-related medical retirement, saying that work pressures over the last few years affected his performance.

If city-ordered psychological tests “indicate that his actions were not related to job stress, I will be in a position to determine what disciplinary action, if any, to take,” Campbell said. That, he said, could range from a reprimand to firing.

Campbell, a 20-year veteran of the department, is the son of a Virginia coal miner. He attended college in Indiana and Redlands and later graduated from the FBI National Academy. In 1961, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department, transferring five years later to Newport Beach.

Campbell spent his first eight years on the street as a patrolman before he was promoted through the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain. His years on the force, Campbell added, give him a “sensitivity and insight” into police work and the department.

In addition to improving the department’s image, Campbell said, he plans to ask the City Council for money for more foot patrols on the Balboa and Newport piers and Marina Avenue.

Asked how he will adjust to the $60,000-a-year post, Campbell said, “I don’t know what the feeling is going to be like. I can’t be pointing the finger at anybody else. Ask me in a couple of weeks.”

Campbell, who scored No. 1 with 87.92% on the written and oral police chief exam, was chosen over five other finalists: Cypress Police Chief Ron Lowenberg (85.4%); Glendale Police Capt. Brook McMahon (79.87%); Seal Beach Police Chief Stacy Picascia (79.7%); Torrance Police Capt. Jim Weyant (79.65%) and Bell Gardens Police Chief Bill Donohoe (77.93%).

Campbell is married to Newport Beach Detective Lavonne Campbell, one of two women on the 139-member force. They have four daughters.