Officials Want Local Replacement for Binkley : Law enforcement: Police chief’s firing prompts search for candidates. But department’s uncertain future will make it difficult.

As city management contemplates a replacement for Long Beach Police Chief Lawrence Binkley, the mayor and the majority of the City Council said this week that the department’s next leader should come from within the ranks.

“We’ve had some fine officers rise within the ranks, and I don’t see why one of them can’t be the chief,” Mayor Ernie Kell said Wednesday.

Vice Mayor Jeff Kellogg also said he preferred that Binkley’s successor be selected from the department. “That’s the way I run my business,” Kellogg said.

Kellogg and other council members emphasized that the decision is in the hands of City Manager James Hankla. The city manager, saying he had lost confidence in the chief’s leadership and judgment, fired Binkley last Friday.

Hankla would not say this week how he plans to fill the chief’s job. He reassigned Binkley on Dec. 23 pending an investigation into the chief’s management of the department, and appointed Deputy Chief Bill Ellis as acting chief.

Five years ago, in his first major decision as the new city manager, Hankla hired Binkley from the Los Angeles Police Department over four other candidates from within the ranks of Long Beach police. But many in the department repeatedly said that Binkley was an outsider. Binkley also has said that local officers never considered him one of their own.

Council members Kellogg, Tom Clark, Wallace Edgerton, Ray Grabinski and Clarence Smith said this week that to avoid some of the same problems, they would like the city manager to choose the chief from within the department.

Several councilmen also said they would like to see Acting Chief Ellis, a 27-year veteran of the department, become its next head.

“Leave it the way it is,” Edgerton said. “We went outside and management didn’t care for that. So let’s stay with our own people. Ellis is an excellent choice.”

Councilman Grabinski said: “We have some incredible personnel in the Long Beach Police Department. A number of people are capable.” Grabinski described Ellis as “top notch,” “a good listener” and “a real good people person.”

Ellis, however, gave no indication this week that he would take the job if it were offered to him. “That’s something the city manager and I would have to discuss,” he said. Ellis did not apply for the chief’s job five years ago.

Some councilmen also noted that the department’s uncertain future might make it difficult to attract a qualified candidate from the outside. Sheriff’s deputies have been patrolling two sections of the city since November, 1990, and some council members have said they would prefer to have the sheriff take over law enforcement responsibilities for the entire city.

Councilman Les Robbins said it would be difficult to find a full-time chief until after the city receives a sheriff’s report estimating what it would cost Long Beach to dismantle its Police Department and hire sheriff’s deputies.

“Why bother to go on a search for a police chief?” asked Robbins, a sheriff’s deputy and one of the staunchest council supporters for a sheriff’s takeover. “If I have my way, that’s what will be next.”

Councilman Warren Harwood, another sheriff’s supporter, said that before any final decisions are made, he wants “to find out what went wrong with what we have.” Harwood said he wants to learn more about the manager’s review of Binkley’s performance.

Binkley was fired after a city investigation was prompted by numerous complaints from police commanders. They criticized Binkley for, among other things, allegedly running the department in a dictatorial manner and unfairly cracking down on those who disagreed with him.

Hankla announced last week that the investigation concluded that “there is not sufficient evidence” that the chief “engaged in any act of wrongdoing.” But Hankla has declined to elaborate on the findings. Binkley has denied any wrongdoing. He said the criticism of his management style stems from discontent in the department over his efforts to improve standards by increasing training and discipline.

Assistant Police Chief Eugene Brizzolara, also under city review, is on a stress-related disability leave. Deputy Chief Robert Luman is the acting assistant chief.

Most council members said they hope the city manager chooses a new chief quickly.

“I don’t want to second-guess the city manager, but we need to get on with the successor,” Grabinski said.

Kellogg added: “I’d like to put this behind us as soon as possible. I’d like to have a chief of police that’s loved by all, that has no controversies and will eliminate crime throughout Long Beach.”