Woodland Chief to Lead Newport Police Force

The police chief from the small Northern California city of Woodland was named Monday to head Newport Beach’s beleaguered department, ending a six-month search for a successor to former chief Arb Campbell, who left the force amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Robert J. McDonell, 52, twice the acting chief in San Clemente, will return to Orange County on Aug. 2 to take over the 249-person Newport Beach department.

Newport Beach officials and colleagues in law enforcement described McDonell as an energetic and bright administrator who has proven himself an open and accessible leader in Woodland--traits that could prove critical in setting a new standard for the department and its personnel.

Woodland officials said that McDonell has worked hard to expand the 50-officer department’s minority and female representation--but has also faced criticism from local Latinos about the cleaning up of what is known in the community as “Wino Park.”

McDonell was hired for the $100,000-a-year post Monday by Kevin J. Murphy, the Newport Beach city manager who fired Campbell in December and Capt. Anthony Villa in March for their alleged involvement in sexual harassment of police employees.

While interviewing candidates, Murphy said he asked each one about sexual harassment and how it is dealt with in his or her department. McDonell, he said, demonstrated “impeccable integrity” along with an ability to stay on top of such problems in his department.

“He wants to know what is going on day-to-day. The officers in the car will know they have an ally in the chief’s office,” Murphy said.

McDonell said at the afternoon press conference where he and his wife, Lana, were presented to the public that he has on “multiple” occasions disciplined Woodland officers for alleged harassment of women employees. “I think everybody is conscious of it. . . . My organization is a very healthy work environment,” he said.

The problems in the Newport Beach department became public last fall when 10 current and former female employees filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court against the city, Villa and Campbell alleging widespread sexual harassment. One woman alleged that the Campbell and Villa raped her at a drunken party a decade ago, and other plaintiffs have accused Campbell of knowingly condoning the harassment of women by fellow officers.

On June 10, Campbell and Villa were reinstated by the city and then immediately retired. In exchange they dropped a wrongful termination suit against the city. The women officers are going ahead with their suit.

Tamara Mason, who is in the Bayside chapter of the National Organization of Women and has protested the city’s handling of the allegations, said that McDonell’s top priority should be to review the city’s internal investigation and stop any continuing retaliation against the plaintiffs.

“This is not settled. There are still 10 women” with a lawsuit pending, she said. “Things are not done just because Campbell and Villa are out.”

None of the plaintiffs could be reached for comment.

At the press conference, McDonell said he would provide leadership to rejuvenate morale. “I think the department is ready to put this chapter of their life behind them and move on,” he said. “That is exactly what I plan to do; to get on with the business of police work.”

McDonell’s track record shows an awareness of the need to diversify the police force, officials said. Capt. Russ Smith of the Woodland department said the female and ethnic staff have grown “substantially” since McDonell took over in 1986 and there has been “a very conscious effort” to attract women and Latinos “to reflect the growth in the community.”

The Woodland department has 23 women employees and 12 minorities among a staff of 79; seven of the women are sworn police officers. In contrast, Newport Beach has seven women among its 139 sworn officers.

McDonell’s career in Woodland is not without controversy.

In April, several dozen people protested what they saw as discriminatory treatment of Mexican-Americans at the hands of the city and the police. The protest stemmed from the city’s removal of a picnic table at a local park to deter the activities of a group of Mexican men who allegedly used the area to drink, gamble, urinate and proposition women.

The incident prompted one community activist to call for McDonell’s firing. But city officials said that the local City Council, has been pleased with his performance.

“We really regret losing Bob. He was an excellent police chief,” said Assistant City Manager Kristine O’Toole, who said that McDonell’s department consistently ranks among the best in labor relations.

An Oakland native, McDonell has been married for 25 years and has two sons. He began his police career at the Mountain View Police Department in Santa Clara County in 1968 and twice served as interim police chief in San Clemente in 1984 and 1985.

He lists among his career accomplishments creation of a volunteer program in San Clemente for senior citizens to perform minor law enforcement tasks, as well as implementing that city’s first neighborhood watch program.

In Woodland, McDonell secured $700,000 in state grants for a variety of programs, including youth services, traffic education and undercover operations. Woodland, a city of 40,000, has a police budget of $6 million, about one-third of Newport Beach’s, which has a population of 67,000.

The challenge McDonell will face in his new job is underscored by the disparity in the drug traffic in each city. One of Woodland’s biggest drug raids occurred in January, 1992, when police arrested about 50 suspected drug offenders in a single day. The well-publicized raid became known as “Superbowl Saturday” but netted drugs valued at $9,000. In contrast, Newport Beach has had several seizures in the last few years, each netting millions in drugs.

In winning the job, McDonell bested 50 applicants and three other finalists: Melvin Nichols, 52, a top administrator in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department; Orange County Undersheriff Raul Ramos, 62, and Buena Park Police Chief Richard M. Tefank, 47.

Anaheim Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy, who served as a member of the interview panel in the Newport search, said that in the end, all four finalists displayed the credentials needed for the job.

“It really came down to (finding) . . . a match for Kevin” Murphy, Molloy said. “He was looking for somebody with a lot of energy, somebody who wasn’t carrying a lot of baggage around, and someone he could get along with. Kevin wanted somebody that could step in and run the show, and Bob had that match.”

Praising McDonell, Murphy said he “has a reputation among his peers of being a very bright man with impeccable integrity. He will not compromise his integrity. Those traits will serve him very well as our chief, particularly at a time like this.”

Molloy also described McDonell as someone who offers the department a way to overcome the divisive sex-harassment scandal.

“What everybody’s looking for is to move beyond this thing and get on with life,” he said.

“Every time you turn around, people are throwing Newport Beach in your face--’Oh, you’re from Orange County? What about this Newport Beach thing?’ Everybody’s kind of tired of it.”

Despite generally good reviews for McDonell, Capt. Jim Jacobs--who served as interim chief but was not a candidate for the job--said he expects some resistance and dissension.

Jacobs said he wouldn’t be surprised if some employees leave the department if McDonell tries to change the police force too much.

“What happens frequently when you get a new chief, you get a direction, a new style and some people will not be comfortable with that new style,” he said. “There will be a lot of (employee) apprehension, like with anybody who is getting a new boss.”