Los Alamitos’ First Police Chief, Donald French, Dies

Former Los Alamitos Police Chief Donald A. French, an innovative officer who organized the Los Alamitos Police Department in 1961 but was fired from his post seven years later, died Tuesday after a long illness. He was 68.

Shortly after incorporation, the city hired French in July, 1961, to establish a police department that would assume the law enforcement duties provided up to then by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, where French had served as a sergeant.

Within six months, he recruited five officers and two dispatchers for a 24-hour operation that opened its doors Jan. 1, 1962.

In the early days, the office closed at 5 p.m. and calls were answered by the Sheriff’s Department, which then dispatched Los Alamitos officers. If citizens came to the station after hours, they could summon a patrolman by turning on a beacon on top of the department flag pole.

French was credited with making his officers the first in the county to be armed with .45-caliber semiautomatic pistols. Today, virtually all police agencies in the county use semiautomatics, including .45s.

French also changed the traditional black and white squad cars to white cars with blue doors because he thought they presented a better public image. In the mid-1960s, he again changed them--to all white--again to soften the police image during a time of campus and political unrest.

French was fired by the city manager in 1968 amid charges of favoritism, erratic discipline, poor leadership, the hiring of fired deputy sheriffs, and for personally writing more than 90 insufficient checks. The City Council unanimously upheld the dismissal.

In his defense, French said he repaid the bad checks and that his account was never closed by the bank. He said he was dismissed because of his opposition to gambling in the city, which did not endear him to politically influential officials of Los Alamitos Race Track.

When he left the department, the force had grown 19 officers and four dispatchers, augmented by 10 reserve officers. They worked the station 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

French, who became a U.S. Postal Service police officer after his dismissal, lived for many years on a 20-acre ranch across from Los Alamitos Race Track. He retired from law enforcement in 1988 and moved to Hesperia with his wife, Evelyn.

The former chief’s last public appearance in Los Alamitos was in November, 1987, when he and his wife attended an appreciation dinner held for him at the Armed Forces Reserve Center.

French is survived by his wife, three daughters, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Services will not be held at French’s request. In his honor, however, uniformed Los Alamitos police officers will wear a black band on their badges this week.