SEAL BEACH : City Rebuts Report Critical of Police

The city has made another response to the Orange County Grand Jury’s report that sharply criticized the Police Department.

After city officials released a written response to the grand jury report two weeks ago, several residents objected to the lack of specific replies to allegations of nepotism, an unusually high number of stress-related disability retirements and citizen complaints about officers’ conduct.

“This is to finally set the record straight and get the facts out,” Police Chief William Stearns said of the packet of documents now available to the public. Stearns criticized the grand jury’s investigatory methods in a memo released Tuesday.

“I was appalled because I thought it would be a professional, unbiased, in-depth investigation,” Stearns said in a telephone interview. Specifically, Stearns said the grand jury failed to use skilled investigators in putting together its report and ignored personnel and other records.

Stearns also said he was never interviewed in connection with the inquiry.

Carol Duensing, chair of the grand jury committee that conducted the probe, confirmed Stearns was not interviewed but stood by the report.

“Our investigation was very thorough,” she said. “The committee did an excellent job.”

The confidential nature of the grand jury investigation prevents her from talking about who was interviewed or what records were considered, she said.

The memos released Tuesday--from the police chief, a police captain and the city attorney’s office--dispute charges of nepotism stemming from the reclassification of Stearns’ wife, Michele, from animal control officer to court liaison.

Although the grand jury report indicated that her hiring had violated city rules, city officials said proper procedures were followed in making the job change. And, contrary to the grand jury’s report, Michele Stearns did not receive a pay increase with the new position, city officials said.

In fact, the decision to reclassify Stearns was approved by the city manager, civil service board and City Council at the time, the memos indicate. The city has already referred the charge of nepotism to the city’s Civil Service board for review and recommendation.

The memo also states that the police chief’s actions over the last two years have reduced the number of medical retirements and that only citizen complaints to the City Council involved incidents that occurred more than two years ago.