City Agrees to Pay Ex-Police Chief’s Disability Claim

Former Compton Police Chief Terry Ebert, who resigned last month as auditors were investigating missing department funds, was granted $12,500 by the City Council this week for stress disability.

Ebert filed a formal claim against the city, saying that stomach problems and weight loss had disabled him since April 29--the day he was placed on administrative leave while auditors searched his department’s accounts for missing and improperly mingled funds, said City Manger Howard Caldwell.

The council action was taken with no discussion and passed unanimously. Mayor Walter R. Tucker III and Councilwoman Patricia A. Moore were absent. Neither could be reached for comment.

“Had we taken (Ebert) to court, this case potentially could have cost us $300,000 to $400,000, easily,” City Atty. Wesley Fenderson Jr. said.

The $12,500 settlement with Ebert means the city, which administers its own insurance program, is no longer liable for Ebert’s medical claims, said Ken Johnson, Compton’s claims coordinator.

A 23-year veteran of the Police Department, Ebert filed his stress disability claim against the city in May and resigned his position last month. The city has recommended to the Public Employees Retirement System that Ebert be retired. If his retirement is approved, Ebert would receive 50% of his salary, tax free, Johnson said.

The salary range for the chief is $76,400 to $89,600 per year. Compton’s Personnel Department declined to say how much Ebert was making at the time of his resignation.

Ebert could not be reached for comment.

Ebert first fell under scrutiny in April, soon after he made a formal request for additional drug-buy funds to be used in sting operations. A routine audit was conducted and investigators discovered that money was missing and funds intended for drug-buys, bail and property accounts had been improperly mingled, Caldwell said.

The property account contains cash seized as evidence, and the bail account temporarily holds money paid by suspects as a guarantee they will return to face charges if they are released from custody.

The audit of police accounts was completed in May, but Compton city officials refuse to reveal how much money was missing from Police Department accounts, despite repeated requests by The Times.