Only 2 of 7 Finalists for Torrance Police Chief on Force Now

Only two Torrance police captains are among the seven finalists for the job of police chief, disappointing those on the City Council and in the department who favor promoting a chief from within the force.

The other five finalists--including the three who received the highest scores from a panel of outside evaluators--work for police agencies across Southern and Central California. The top-scoring Torrance candidate came in fourth on the finalists’ list, which was made public Monday.

“I was surprised that more of our people didn’t finish in the upper group,” said Detective David Nemeth, president of the Torrance Police Officers Assn., which had urged that only candidates on the force be considered.

The list now goes to City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson, who will choose from among the seven finalists.

The new chief will inherit a department bruised in recent years by multimillion-dollar lawsuits and legal settlements in three major cases involving death or injury. The department has also suffered morale problems and a prolonged union contract dispute.

Jackson’s decision is being watched closely as a harbinger of whether the city plans to change its police practices. The choice of a chief from outside Torrance could foretell a shake-up; the anointing of an internal candidate would indicate that no radical changes are desired, police experts have said.

The poor showing of the internal candidates lessens the odds of an internal promotion, said Councilman Bill Applegate, who had opposed opening the search to outsiders. “At this point, the odds are in favor of an outside candidate. There’s no question. The numbers don’t lie,” Applegate said.

But the two internal finalists on the list--Captains Jim Weyant and Bruce J. Randall--say they are not ruling out their chances.

“Obviously any one of us would have been more thrilled to come out higher . . . (but) I am happy to still be in the running,” said Weyant, who has been with the department 29 years. He finished fourth on the finalists’ list.

“It’s not over till it’s over,” said Randall, a 28-year veteran, who finished seventh.

Promoting from within is a Torrance tradition; only one of the six police chiefs since the 1920s came from outside. And the last chief, department veteran Donald E. Nash, spent 21 years in the job.

But Nash stepped down in June after suffering heart problems and a public scandal. The Los Angeles district attorney is still investigating his underreporting of the purchase price of two used cars to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The city is using a three-step process to choose Nash’s successor, who will be paid $78,252 to $95,112 to head the county’s fourth-largest police agency of 238 sworn officers.

In the first step, completed in early September, city officials whittled a list of 19 applicants to 12 semifinalists, including six current employees.

Then the list was narrowed further by a three-member review panel, made up of Orange County officials and selected by Jackson, Civil Service Administrator William L. Ghio and the recruiting firm of Ralph Andersen & Associates.

The panel interviewed the 12 semifinalists separately in hourlong sessions this month and ranked them according to scores that have not been disclosed.

In the search’s final phase, Jackson will conduct his own interviews. He declined comment Wednesday when asked if the new chief should come from inside or outside. His decision is not subject to City Council approval.

“It’s (Jackson’s) choice, and, looking at his pattern, he does not automatically pluck No. 1 from a list,” said Mayor Katy Geissert.

The two top-ranked finalists have taken command of problem-plagued police departments in the past:

Patrick M. Connolly, the top-scoring candidate, became police chief of Huntington Park in early 1988, soon after two officers were convicted of torturing a teen-age burglary suspect with a stun gun. His predecessor, Chief Geano Contessotto, was fired after being accused of soliciting information from officers to discredit a city councilman. The 67-officer department serves a largely Latino city southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Earlier, Connolly was UCLA police chief.

Since Connolly’s arrival in Huntington Park, “things have improved . . . in terms of the department objectives and staff training,” said Edward S. Chow, assistant city administrator.

Oliver (Lee) Drummond, a former Hanford police chief, was hired three years ago as chief in Oceanside, soon after a report found the 191-officer department lacked staffing and leadership. But he resigned suddenly in November, 1990, after a political change on the City Council.

Even if Drummond is hired this fall in Torrance, he will face some unfinished business from Oceanside. Five officers have brought an $11.8-million federal suit charging Drummond with vengeful disciplinary action. The suit is scheduled for trial in November, said Peter Friesen, the officers’ attorney. Drummond, who is now interim chief in Sanger, near Fresno, declined comment on the case Wednesday.

Three finalists come from police agencies larger than Torrance.

Capt. Joseph C. DeLadurantey commands the Harbor Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, which has 217 sworn officers. He has received attention for his community policing efforts, including an orientation program for officers emphasizing harbor-area history and services.

Larry Gore is one of four commanders in the San Diego Police Department. And Dennis C. Gillard is a county Sheriff’s Department bureau commander who works with cities who contract with the sheriff for law enforcement.

One candidate whose name is missing from the finalists’ list is that of Jay R. Stroh, director of the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control and a former chief in Inglewood and El Segundo. Stroh, one of the original 19 applicants, said this week he was never invited to be interviewed by the panel.

Police Chief Candidates

Here are the seven finalists for the Torrance police chief’s job. They are listed in order of their scores in oral interviews with a panel composed of the Anaheim police chief, the Huntington Beach assistant city administrator and the Costa Mesa police chief. * Patrick M. Connolly, Huntington Park police chief.

* Oliver Drummond, Sanger, Calif., interim police chief; former Oceanside police chief.

* Joseph C. De Ladurantey, Los Angeles Police Department commanding officer, Harbor area.

* James M. Weyant, Torrance Police Department captain.

* Larry Gore, San Diego Police Department commander.

* Dennis C. Gillard, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department captain.

* Bruce J. Randall, Torrance Police Department captain.