Allegations of Sexual Harassment in Newport

The sexual harassment allegations made against (Capt.) Tony Villa, (former Police Chief) Arb Campbell and the Newport Beach Police Department have understandably generated a significant number of newspaper stories. Accordingly, I thought it prudent to give a perspective from the viewpoint of the Newport Beach City Council and its mayor.

Each member of the Newport Beach City Council was as shocked as the citizens of Newport Beach and other citizens of Orange County when the sexual harassment allegations in the Newport Beach Police Department first surfaced. We did not expect, nor believe, that such conduct could happen here. Shock or no shock, the City Council and city manager immediately committed themselves to get to the bottom of these allegations and to take any and all necessary corrective action.

Legal counsel for the soon-to-be-plaintiffs requested that our city manager investigate the charges independent of the Police Department. He properly responded immediately and, after reviewing all of the investigative options, the council concurred with his recommendations to retain an outside attorney to investigate the allegations and instructed staff to hire attorney Harold A. Bridges.

Mr. Bridges has pursued this matter diligently, with no restraints or constraints of any kind placed on him by the council or the city manager. In fact, he has been specifically instructed to not only gather the facts but be prepared, consistent with the law, to divulge those facts to the public.

On Dec. 14, he released his first public status report which, among other things, stated that, in his opinion, there was evidence that could support a finding that the alleged sexual harassment occurred. This revelation alone, by an investigator hired by the Newport Beach City Council, should substantiate both the city’s and the council’s commitment to do a thorough job of investigating these issues.

Some questioned why we did not turn this over to the grand jury for investigation. The grand jury was not asked to investigate the allegations, because the city manager and council felt that by going with an independent attorney investigator the job could be done more expeditiously.

Furthermore, we could not be sure that the grand jury would even take this case. Subsequent to our decision and some calls in the media for a grand jury investigation, I had conversations with a legal counsel from the district attorney’s office who advises the grand jury to verify my own understanding of that body’s responsibilities.

My personal conclusion is that had we waited for the grand jury to act, the city would still be awaiting the outcome. In that interim, the council, staff and Police Department would all be in a state of limbo. Further, the grand jury has no power to correct any impropriety it may find. We wanted to get to the bottom of the allegations and to take any necessary corrective action as soon as possible.

I, the members of the City Council and the city manager have repeatedly committed ourselves to conducting a thorough investigation of these allegations in a manner which would be legally, morally and ethically correct. We have consistently and continuously moved forward on that commitment and will continue to do so. However, we will not panic and we will not be stampeded into a rush to judgment.

Rather, we have and will continue to proceed with all deliberate speed, in the manner prescribed by law, to complete the investigation, take all necessary and appropriate action to correct any transgressions and, thereby, bring this unfortunate incident to an end in our city.

CLARENCE J. TURNER

Mayor, City of Newport Beach