Glendale Police Chief Plans to Step Down : Law enforcement: David J. Thompson will retire for health reasons after 35 years. He is credited with reforming the department following a 1986 discrimination lawsuit.

Glendale Police Chief David J. Thompson, who worked his way through the ranks during a 35-year career and initiated a series of departmental reforms following a discrimination lawsuit, announced Thursday that he will retire.

Thompson, 60, said he will step down when the Glendale City Council and city manager select a new chief, probably in November.

He said he had decided to retire because the demands of the post are slowing his recovery from double-bypass heart surgery.

“I’ve been plodding along, trying to do the job, but it’s taken a toll on me from a physical point of view,” Thompson said.

In 1988, Thompson suffered a heart attack after a Chamber of Commerce lunch, and without asking for help drove himself to a hospital.

Looking back at his career in an interview Thursday, the chief said he joined the Glendale force in 1956 after the Los Angeles Police Department rejected him as underweight at 138 pounds, 22 pounds too light.

On his first call as a rookie, Thompson mixed up the police codes and believed an armed robbery was in progress.

In his excitement, he leaped out of his police car, forgetting to set the emergency brake.

“The patrol car took off down the street,” Thompson recalled.

He and his partner recaptured their car, but their suspect--accused of indecent exposure--escaped.

At that time, the department had 160 employees and a $1.1-million budget.

Today, Thompson administers 214 officers, 100 civilian employees and a $21-million budget.

He has held the top post for nine years.

During his tenure, the department’s image was tarnished when a Latino officer won a federal discrimination lawsuit, alleging that he had been unfairly passed over for promotion.

Flyers and cartoons with derogatory depictions of blacks and Latinos, allegedly distributed by Anglo Glendale officers, were made public during the 1986 trial.

On Thursday, Thompson again complained that Glendale police were portrayed unfairly in news reports.

But he acknowledged that the department has responded to issues raised in the trial by broadening its personnel evaluation process and teaching officers to be more sensitive to ethnic and cultural differences.

“I think we’ve made some major strides,” he said.

The chief said he hopes the city will pick his successor from within the department.

But Councilman Larry Zarian said he favors a wider search to find the best candidate from the Glendale department or elsewhere.

Zarian said Thompson is respected in the community. “He has kept himself above reproach. He’s a true professional, just the kind of person you want as chief.”