Newport to Sell Seized Mercedes Police Chief Used : Law enforcement: Detectives say they don’t feel safe driving it. Campbell is seeking a medical leave for a work-related ailment.

The city of Newport Beach intends to auction a Mercedes-Benz that was seized in a drug arrest and was used frequently over the last year by Newport Beach Police Chief Arb Campbell, who is now on leave while fighting sexual harassment and rape accusations.

Officials also said Tuesday that Campbell is seeking a paid medical leave for an unspecified work-related health problem.

One of Campbell’s attorneys, Jeff Epstein, said Campbell is suffering from job-related high blood pressure that predates the controversy shrouding his department and the allegations of sexual harassment.

Campbell, who has been on paid administrative leave since Oct. 15, could not be reached for his comments. But, through his attorneys, the chief has denied the sexual harassment accusations and rejected any suggestion that his use of the Mercedes was improper.

City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said he has been asked by Acting Police Chief Jim Jacobs to sell the 1985 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL because undercover drug detectives no longer feel safe driving it. The car, a silver four-door sedan, has an estimated value of $20,000 to $30,000.

Murphy said Jacobs told him that all the publicity made the automobile no longer effective as an undercover vehicle, and to allay potential concern by the public, it should be sold.

The Times reported earlier this month that Campbell repeatedly used the car, which was confiscated in a local narcotics case and put into police service in August, 1991. The Mercedes was assigned specifically to the chief’s office, but he was not required to log his own use of it.

Under state and federal asset forfeiture laws, property seized in narcotics cases can be kept by police agencies on the condition that it be used for law enforcement purposes and to enhance--not replace--existing resources.

City records showed that although Campbell was assigned a city-leased car, he took the Mercedes for common business functions and to ferry his staff for short trips around town, primarily during the lunch hour. Officers and other employees within his department said the chief frequently used the luxury sedan for personal travel such as weekend outings.

Jacobs, reacting to Times inquiries, reassigned the Mercedes from the chief’s office to the detective division with the requirement that it now be used only for undercover assignments.

On Tuesday, Murphy said it had been decided that detectives were no longer comfortable with that arrangement. He said an auction date had not been set.

In the wake of the disclosures, Councilman Clarence J. Turner recently requested the city staff to develop guidelines for handling property seized through asset forfeiture laws and a full accounting of how the spoils of the drug war have been used by police. A draft policy is expected to be presented to the City Council on Monday.

Controversy over Campbell’s tenure began Sept. 24, when four current and former employees accused him in a lawsuit of condoning sexual harassment by top members of his department, including close friend Captain Anthony Villa. On Oct. 15, a police dispatcher became the fifth woman to join the lawsuit, accusing both men of raping her 11 years ago during a drunken party. They both have vehemently denied it.

Hours after the rape allegation was made, City Manager Murphy put both men on paid administrative leave because of the serious nature of the allegations. Campbell and Villa on Thursday sued the city and Murphy, claiming their civil rights have been violated in a “witch hunt.” They also contend they were improperly removed from command.

Murphy has denied the “witch hunt” allegation and said he acted properly in putting the two men on leave.

On Tuesday, Murphy declined to discuss the nature of Campbell’s medical problem but said the city will determine whether it is job-related.

If it is determined that he has a job-related disability, Campbell, who earns about $102,000 annually and has said through attorneys he believes he is in the process of being terminated, could receive up to one year’s pay from the date of his claim.

Correspondent Mimi Ko contributed to this story.