Council Hears Opinions on Police Chief

In a special public hearing Tuesday night, the San Diego City Council invited local residents to offer suggestions about what kind of person would be a good chief of police without specifically identifying any of their favorite candidates for the job.

But, even without naming names, many of the speakers made it clear whom they do or do not prefer.

Several said it is imperative that the next chief be of impeccable moral character and not someone who has been publicly chastised. That was an obvious reference to Acting Chief Bob Burgreen, who received a public reprimand two years ago for his role in a ticket-fixing scandal.

“We don’t want someone tainted with a background of scandal or any other public misconduct,” said Alex Rascon Jr., a school security official.

Anita Calhoun, a school principal, said the next chief should be someone who plans to retire here, another obvious reference to Burgreen. The acting chief has made it known he would like to eventually retire to the Little Rock, Ark., area, where he is also a candidate for police chief.

“I want the police chief to be a little old man who retires here someday,” she said. “And then, if he walks down the street and sees a high crime rate, he’ll know he’s responsible for it.”

Other speakers, many of them from the Latino community, endorsed the notion of having a Latino chief. They said such a chief, particularly if he were bilingual, would provide an excellent role model for the large Latino population in San Diego.

Their references were obviously to Deputy Chief Manny Guaderrama, also under consideration for the position.

“The entire community needs a Hispanic in this leadership position,” said Zoraida Alvarado.

City Manager John Lockwood said he has interviewed Burgreen, Guaderrama, two other San Diego deputy chiefs and three candidates from other cities. He said he made up his mind late last week, and plans to announce this morning his nomination for the successor to Bill Kolender.

The council has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Monday afternoon.