Torrance Police Chief Plans to Retire Next Year

Torrance Police Chief Donald E. Nash plans to retire in February, 1992, after more than two decades heading what is now the fourth-largest police department in Los Angeles County.

Nash, 66, formally announced his retirement Feb. 1 in a letter to City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson. The letter was released by the city manager’s office Wednesday.

Nash was in Anaheim at a conference of police chiefs and was unavailable for comment.

He wrote in his letter: “This advance notice will provide the members of the Council and the City Manager with adequate time to select a new police chief, as well as allow me the opportunity to apply for the most beneficial retirement options.”

The City Council will discuss Nash’s retirement package at its meeting next Tuesday, city officials said.

In recent years, the Police Department has been plagued by criticism of its officers’ conduct. In 1989, a jury issued a $7.7-million judgment against the city and five current and former police employees after finding that Torrance officers covered up a colleague’s responsibility for a fatal 1984 traffic accident. The city is appealing the case.

Department morale was extremely low during the trial, Mayor Katy Geissert said Wednesday.

“I think (Nash) stayed on until the department stabilized,” she said, adding: “Don Nash is a fighter.”

Councilman Dan Walker said Nash “has just done a superb job for the city of Torrance.” He praised Nash for giving the city one year’s notice of his retirement, saying, “It gives us ample time to do a search and fill the position.”

Nash was hired as a Torrance police officer in 1948 and became chief in February, 1970, the department’s spokesman, Sgt. Ron Traber, said. Nash now earns $118,926 annually in salary and benefits, according to the city manager’s office.

He is the longest-tenured police chief in the history of the Torrance Police Department, Traber said. At the time of his 40th anniversary with the department in 1988, he had the third-longest tenure of any police chief in Los Angeles County, Traber said.

The department employs 363 people, including 238 officers.

In his letter, Nash wrote: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working for the city since October, 1948, and hope in some small way my contributions have enhanced the professional image and efficiency the Torrance Police Department retains today.”

The council on Tuesday received Nash’s resignation letter and instructed the city manager to bring back a proposal for Nash’s retirement package, said Assistant City Manager Albert Ng. The package will be discussed by the council next week, Geissert said.

Jackson, the city manager, said he and the city Civil Service Commission will recommend to the council whether outside candidates should be considered for the job. Candidates will be required to take a civil service examination, and Jackson said he will select the new chief from among the top three scorers.

Geissert said she is reserving judgment about looking outside the department until the commission makes its recommendation.

But two council members said they support an outside search.

“There are very good candidates in-house, but I think we want to broaden the horizons and go outside as well,” said Councilman Timothy Mock.

Mock said he would like “to bring new blood” into the department with an outside candidate for chief.

Walker said the city should consider both outside and internal candidates.

But Detective David Nemeth, president of the Torrance Police Officers Assn., said he would like to see a chief chosen from among the department’s ranks.

“I’d prefer it would be someone we know,” Nemeth said. “I’m leery of going outside because it’s kind of a grab bag.”

Nemeth said he was taken by surprise when he learned of Nash’s letter.

“He’s been a chief who’s had an open-door policy,” he said. “You could go talk to him any time. He’ll really be missed.”

Jackson said: “As chief, (Nash) has done a great deal to make Torrance one of the top departments in the L.A. Basin.”

But department practices came under scrutiny during a 1989 trial in a lawsuit filed by the family of Kelly Rastello, 19, of San Pedro, who died after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck driven by off-duty Torrance Police Sgt. Rollo Green.

The jury found that Torrance police covered up for Green by delaying a field sobriety test for more than an hour and failing to measure his blood-alcohol level. The jury concluded that the department had a “custom and policy” of condoning misbehavior by officers. It ordered that $77,500 in punitive damages be paid by Nash and four other current and former employees; Nash’s share is $50,000. The city has assumed responsibility for paying the money.

“It’s tough to see the department receive the criticism it’s received,” Geissert said.

She praised Nash’s role in the department.

“My general experience with Chief Nash is that he does maintain a tight ship. . . . By and large, my experience has been that he has not hesitated to take strong disciplinary action when he feels it’s justified. But he is well-liked by the people in his department.”