Long Beach Breathes a Sigh of Relief : Government: The firing of Police Chief Binkley seems to end a long-running controversy. Citizens express hope that the city can now concentrate on fighting crime.

From the trendy dessert shops in Belmont Shore to the stroller-covered sidewalks at Los Altos Center mall, there was a general sense of relief Saturday that the protracted ordeal over Long Beach Police Chief Lawrence Binkley seems finally to have ended.

In a town that has been plagued by a soaring crime rate and serious divisions within police ranks, residents were unanimous in expressing hope that Binkley’s firing Friday will enable the city to refocus its energies on its gang and drug problems.

“They have a big job in front of them,” Alan Alabrastro, 25, said as he sat reading a newspaper at Sweet Jill’s Hot and Tasty Cinnamon Rolls. Alabrastro, a project engineer for Pego Systems, which makes packages for pneumatic products, said he believes things “have gotten worse” in recent years.

“It seems the gangs are spreading out more and more,” he said.

Near Polly’s Coffee along a stretch of Belmont Shore that has become a magnet for youths, Lisa King, 33, the coffee shop’s manager, said she was particularly concerned by the “low morale they seem to have” at the Police Department. “From what I heard, he sounds like a pretty power-hungry man and perhaps needed to be removed,” King said.

She noted that the growth of the force had not kept up with the population growth. Fighting crime in Long Beach “sounds like a hell of a job,” she added, expressing some sympathy for Binkley.

Even those who thought that Binkley had done a good job heading the force for nearly five years felt that his firing was probably necessary.

“Maybe it’s time for him to move on,” said William Keller, 70, a retired salesman out for a walk at Los Altos Center. “There’s been so much publicity in the paper I don’t think he could do an effective job.”

Binkley’s tenure had been marked by sparring with the Police Officers Assn. and other controversies centered on his management style. City Manager James Hankla said he fired Binkley because officials had lost confidence in his leadership and judgment.

Some officials cited allegations that Binkley had undertaken investigations of four local public figures as proof that he needed to go. But in announcing the firing Friday, Hankla concluded that a six-week investigation of the chief showed “there is not sufficient evidence” that Binkley “engaged in any act of wrongdoing.”

Binkley said he was “stunned” by the firing in light of the results of the investigation.

The chief’s ouster was not a major topic of conversation Saturday in the shopping districts or in the ethnic working-class areas along Anaheim Street. Several people mistook the controversy over Binkley with that surrounding embattled Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

“Is that Rodney King?” asked a woman named Shirley who was picking up laundry at $1 Cleaners at Los Altos Center.

Some of those who were aware of the controversy had mixed feelings. “I was happy to hear there was no corruption,” said Howard Belvin, 45, a nurse waiting in line to get change at a check-cashing service on Anaheim Street.

But Binkley’s practice of keeping files on public officials left a sour taste in the mouths of others.

“That seems like Big Brother,” Alabrastro said. “I think the main reason that he was fired is lack of confidence. You have to have confidence in the people you hire.” It’s not good, he added, when “a controversy splits up the police force and city officials start fighting with each other and looking over their shoulders.”

Especially because problems with crime are increasing. Felix Velasquez, 28, an applications engineer, said he and his wife are moving away because of crime. His car has been broken into several times, said Velasquez, who was eating at Jill’s.

The Long Beach Police Department reported 53 gang-related killings last year, an increase of 15% over 1990. Police also said that through November there were 574 violent crimes involving gangs, an increase of 35% from the previous year. It is estimated that there are 70 street gangs in Long Beach, with about 11,500 members.

Han Hsieh, 47, owns H & H Video on Anaheim Street. Nearby, he said, a number of shootings between Latinos and Cambodians have occurred in recent years. He sees himself as a strong supporter of the police.

But, he cautioned, “when you’re the chief of police you have to watch yourself, because everybody is looking at you.”