Woman Lawyer to Join Probe of Newport Officers

Responding to complaints from Police Department employees, the city has hired a female attorney to assist in its investigation of alleged sexual harassment by the police chief and a police captain and has expanded the number of people to be interviewed.

The investigation, which began Oct. 7, will continue today after a two-week hiatus during which city officials revamped the study based on criticism they heard from within the department. City Manager Kevin Murphy said Wednesday that he expects the investigation to be complete within three weeks.

Murphy launched the investigation in response to a lawsuit four women filed Sept. 24 charging that Capt. Anthony Villa sexually harassed them on and off the job and that Chief Arb Campbell knowingly condoned Villa’s behavior. A fifth woman, dispatcher Peri Ropke, later joined the complaint, alleging that she was raped by Campbell and Villa in 1981. Murphy placed the two men on paid administrative leave Oct. 15, the day Ropke announced her charges.

Also on Oct. 15, Murphy and Harold A. Bridges, the Los Angeles attorney who is conducting the city’s investigation, met with about 100 members of the department to discuss their concerns over the investigation.

As a result of that meeting, Murphy on Wednesday announced that Brenda L. Diederichs, a colleague of Bridges, will assist in the investigation.