Attorney Says Coercion Made Police Chief Quit His San Clemente Post

Maintaining that former San Clemente Police Chief Kelson McDaniel was unfairly coerced into resigning, his attorney Tuesday released a previously confidential report on departmental dissension and a letter from the city manager explaining why he asked for the resignation.

In a July 2 letter, City Manager James Hendrickson listed six reasons for requesting McDaniel’s resignation, including “lack of flexibility and sensitivity” in dealing with department employees.

And the 13-page report written by consultant James S. Mocalis found that McDaniel’s “highly regimented and inflexible” management style was the cause of dissension within the department. The Mocalis report was compiled after interviews with 74 people, including most sworn and non-sworn department employees and some of their spouses.

Mocalis recommended that McDaniel meet with department employees individually or propose a plan to “ameliorate the situation.”

But Mocalis also wrote: “I believe it will not be possible for the chief to re-establish his position in a manner that will be acceptable to the employees, and I would attribute such failure almost completely to his management style.”

Report Dated May 28

The Mocalis report is dated May 28, the day Hendrickson requested and received McDaniel’s resignation.

But McDaniel’s attorney, Fred T. Ashley, said Tuesday that the city manager “told McDaniel that he (would) be terminated immediately without severance pay” if he did not resign.

Ashley alleged that McDaniel was coerced, which he said gives his client the right to rescind his resignation.

The “threat of termination” was made without an opportunity for McDaniel to consult a lawyer or “reflect on the matter,” although McDaniel told Hendrickson he was entitled to a hearing, Ashley said.

Hendrickson declined comment Tuesday, saying he is restrained by law from commenting on the personnel matter. But in a July 2 letter released by McDaniel Tuesday, City Attorney David C. Larsen wrote, “We do not believe that the elements of duress or coercion . . . are found in the circumstances of this case.”

McDaniel, who was hired in October, 1985, resigned two days after an overwhelming no-confidence vote by his officers. However, a month later he asked for his job back.

Meanwhile, the city has agreed to hold a personnel hearing on McDaniel’s firing, although Ashley said Tuesday he does not believe city officials are willing to reinstate his client.

A hearing on McDaniel’s firing was originally scheduled for July 21. But Ashley said Tuesday that a new hearing date is being arranged. But Ashley said Hendrickson has publicly indicated that McDaniel will not be reinstated under any circumstances.

Ashley also said that he was told by Larsen, the city attorney, that city officials told Larsen they will not be bound by a hearing officers’ decision. Larsen could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Letter to McDaniel

In his letter to McDaniel, Hendrickson said the police chief’s “working relationship” with department employees “is of such nature that the department cannot function as a cohesive team.”

Hendrickson also blamed McDaniel for allowing frustration to build, culminating in the no-confidence vote, and then “you were not prepared and equipped to deal with the situation.”

Employees performed on the basis of fear, and there was “no basis upon which to rebuild the trust and confidence,” Hendrickson’s letter said.

Hendrickson also cited McDaniel’s “inappropriate application, without my knowledge, for the position of chief of police of Newport Beach, only weeks after you had accepted the San Clemente position.”

In the Mocalis report, the consultant said McDaniel told him that he had applied for the Newport Beach job because “the city (of San Clemente) broke its contract with me.”

When he was hired, McDaniel told Mocalis, he was promised a “police department that would eventually be reflective of a city of 90,000 population.”

“However, he stated that the citizens of San Clemente had broken their contract with him by supporting the Growth Limit Initiative, which he felt would preclude the police department from growing into the size he had anticipated,” Mocalis said.

“It is my opinion that this rationalization is extremely weak and lead me to conclude that in this singular instance, the chief exhibited a lack of integrity,” Mocalis said.