FULLERTON : Police Building to Be Named for Ex-Chief

The Police Department building on Commonwealth Avenue will be named after Wayne H. Bornhoft to honor the former police chief and city councilman who died in November.

Bornhoft’s name will be placed under the present Fullerton Police Department signs on the Commonwealth and Highland avenue entrances to the building, the City Council decided Tuesday.

A bronze plaque with a bas-relief of Bornhoft will be placed in the entrance corridor to the building.

Bornhoft served as chief from 1957 to 1977 and was a councilman from 1978 to 1982. The council elected him mayor in 1980 and 1981.

A group of Bornhoft’s friends and former colleagues made the proposal to the city. Former Capt. Fred M. King, who worked in the Police Department under Bornhoft for 20 years, came from Arizona to ask for the council’s approval.

The council acceded but rejected his suggestion that the plaque with Bornhoft’s likeness be placed in front of the building. “If you’re going to put a plaque up for someone, you should put it where people can see,” King told the council.

Mayor Molly McClanahan said the 24-by-30-inch plaque will fit best in the hallway, next to the doors to the department’s front desk.

King said he is raising private funds to pay for the lettering and plaque. The plaque will cost about $2,000, and the lettering on the Highland Avenue side will cost about $500, according to the city.