Newport Beach City Manager Fires Capt. Villa From Police

City Manager Kevin Murphy on Monday fired Capt. Anthony Villa, who is accused by 10 current and former female employees of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed last fall.

The 26-year veteran of the police force, who was placed on leave in October, will turn in his badge and receive his last paycheck today.

Villa plans to appeal the decision to the city’s Civil Service Commission, which could reinstate him. He called the firing “out of the realm of truth and into the world of politics.”

“This is a beast that has a mind of its own, a life of its own. It’s gone beyond truth,” he said in an interview.

In the lawsuit, the women contend that Villa made lewd comments, touched breasts, encouraged them to socialize with police officers after hours, and, in 1981, raped a dispatcher after a police party. Chief Arb Campbell, who Murphy fired in December, is accused in the lawsuit of condoning Villa’s behavior and participating in the alleged rape.

Villa has denied the allegations in the lawsuit and maintains he is being persecuted by the city because of the political fallout from the women’s allegations.

He said the city’s 24-page termination notice alleges that he provided inconsistent orders and negative discipline, inappropriately scheduled officers, failed to respect employees and behaved in a manner unbecoming an officer, as well as sexually harassed employees.

Last week, Villa’s attorney submitted a 22-page, single-spaced response to the termination notice, responding point by point to the city’s charges.

Of the firing, Villa said: “I was expecting it. Murphy decided this course of action back in October and he has orchestrated it accordingly. He dug a hole for himself that he could not get out of. Now he’s at the bottom of it. I think we’re going to see the sides crumble in.”

Villa, 49 and a Huntington Beach resident, has 10 days to appeal the decision.

If he does, a civil service hearing will be scheduled during which the city must defend its termination by presenting evidence of the captain’s wrongdoing. The city and Villa expect the hearing to last 20 to 30 days, which could spread over months because the volunteer commission normally meets only once a month.

“I have a right to be confronted by my accusers and I intend to fully avail myself of those rights. Those people are going to have to get up and tell the truth or lie under oath,” Villa said. “I will guarantee you that we will prevail in the civil service board. This has just been a terrible thing, but like the Indians said, we will endeavor to persevere.”

Times correspondent Bob Elston contributed to this report.