ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Bad News in Newport

Whatever the merits of the latest troubling accusations of sexual harassment in the Newport Beach Police Department, it is clear that the department has systemic problems of leadership going back a number of years. A truly independent inquiry by the Orange County Grand Jury is needed now to identify and correct these deficiencies for the long term.

City Manager Kevin J. Murphy took the appropriate step Thursday in placing both Chief Arb Campbell and Capt. Anthony Villa on paid administrative leave, while naming a new acting chief, Capt. Jim Jacobs. Though it was the right thing to do, Murphy’s move came as a surprise--and it is not clear he was entirely forthcoming. Only the day before he said he knew of no new allegations that might have prompted Campbell to announce his retirement, a promise which Campbell backed off on Friday. )

Murphy’s announcement hastily followed an allegation made by a police dispatcher, Peri Ropke, that Campbell and Villa raped her 11 years ago at a party at an Orange County landfill. The accusation was made as she joined the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by four current or former female employees of the department. The lawyer for the two men says they deny any sexual contact with the dispatcher. The district attorney’s office, meanwhile, says the statute of limitations on rape has expired.

Although under the circumstances the removal of the chief was the correct thing to do for the morale of the department, it can be regarded as only a short-term measure. Getting the chief off line can tide the city over pending a more thorough investigation. The fact is, the administrations of the last two Newport Beach police chiefs have been plagued with complaints of varying degree. Under then-Chief Charles (Pete) Gross, the 150-officer department had one of the county’s highest complaint rates--more than 100 lawsuits and claims for damages alleging excessive use of force and harassment of ethnic minorities.

These longstanding concerns, fueled by the current controversy, ought to get the attention of outside investigators. They must also prod the City Council to appropriate reform.