MISSION VIEJO : City’s 1st Police Chief Promoted by Sheriff
The city’s first chief of police will be transferred to other duties in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
After four years in Mission Viejo, former Sheriff’s Lt. George Johnson has been promoted to captain and assigned to run the Orange County Jail.
“I have enjoyed every minute of working in Mission Viejo,” said Johnson, who has worked in the department for 28 years. “It has been the best job I’ve had in the Sheriff’s Department.”
His replacement will be Sheriff’s Lt. Randall D. Blair, who worked in the county investigations division. The change of command will take place Oct. 4.
“Lt. Blair has 24 years of outstanding law enforcement experience, and he has been a resident of Mission Viejo for the past 20 years,” said City Manager Fred Sorsabal. “Randy Blair has the right stuff to be our police chief.”
Mission Viejo contracts with the Sheriff’s Department for police service, at a cost of about $5 million annually.
Sorsabal praised Johnson’s performance as Mission Viejo’s top cop, saying: “The Sheriff’s Department has done a wonderfully effective and responsive job of law enforcement in Mission Viejo, and the appointment of Lt. Blair will help keep it that way.”
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