OBITUARIES : Joseph T. Molloy, 54; Former Alhambra Police Chief

Former Alhambra Police Chief Joseph T. Molloy, a fitness buff who ran marathons and participated in triathlons, died Tuesday of a heart attack as he prepared to go for a morning jog.

Molloy had been chief of the Anaheim Police Department for five years, but before that worked eight years in Alhambra and began his law enforcement career in Monterey Park.

Molloy, who was 54, was found by his secretary on the floor of the locker room next to his office shortly after 8 a.m., authorities said. He had apparently been dead for several hours.

Molloy was highly respected in the law enforcement community and earned a reputation as an innovator who worked extremely long hours and was never afraid to say what was on his mind. More controversial, however, were his handling of a plasterers’ strike and his consulting job with the Los Angeles Rams.

“This is an absolute shock,” said Bob D. Simpson, a council member and former city manager, who hired Molloy as Anaheim’s police chief in 1988. “He was such an avid exerciser. He’s the last person I would have thought would have succumbed to a heart attack.”

Molloy was widely known for his physical prowess. He had been an enthusiastic runner and frequently arrived at the department at 5 a.m. to jog up to 12 miles before work. In recent years, Molloy had participated in the grueling Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii.

“He was at the peak of health,” said Lt. Marc Hedgpeth, who frequently ran with the chief. “He was a role model of fitness for many of the younger and older officers in the department.”

A coroner’s investigator said that despite all his athletic activities, Molloy suffered from heart disease and had an enlarged heart. City officials said Molloy was apparently unaware of his condition. He was due next month for an annual physical exam, which is required of all department heads.

Molloy became Anaheim’s chief June 6, 1988, at a time when the department’s leadership had been rocked by several retirements among its top administrators.

Before coming to Anaheim, Molloy had been Alhambra’s police chief from 1980 to 1985. In 1985, he was named the city’s director of public safety, which placed him in charge of the police and fire departments.

Molloy began his law enforcement career in 1962 as a reserve officer with the Monterey Park Police Department. He moved to Azusa’s department in 1964, where he attained the rank of lieutenant. In 1977, he was named a captain in Culver City’s department before moving to Alhambra.

Anaheim City Manager James D. Ruth said: “Chief Molloy was one of the most dedicated and hardest-working men I ever knew. His loss is not only a loss for his family but for every citizen of Anaheim.”

Ruth appointed Capt. Randall Gaston as interim police chief.

Under Molloy, there was little growth of personnel in the 500-member department but it experienced significant changes in police policies.

He was responsible for changing the department’s brown uniforms to navy blue, as well as converting all-white squad cars to black and white patrol vehicles.

Molloy also instituted a three-day workweek with 12-hour work shifts for many officers and turned over many administrative duties to noncommissioned employees so more officers could be deployed in the streets. He experimented with community policing and was one of the first chiefs in the county to allow his officers to carry nunchakus, a martial arts weapon.

“He was definitely a cop’s cop,” said council member Fred Hunter, a former police officer with the city.

“He’s brought the department into the 20th Century.”

During Molloy’s last 18 months as chief, the city’s violent crime rate dropped by 11.4%.

Molloy is survived by his wife, Pam, and four children. Funeral arrangements are pending.