SIGNAL HILL : Singer to Replace McCrary as Chief

David Singer, a 15-year Police Department veteran, has been named by the City Council to replace retiring Police Chief Michael R. McCrary, effective April 1.

Singer was promoted to the $88,000-a-year job by a unanimous vote of the council last week. He will run a department with 30 sworn officers and a $3.6-million annual budget.

McCrary, 52, will join Lewis Partners, a Pasadena consulting firm. He was hired as police chief in 1982 during a tumultuous period for the force. The department was reeling from charges of police brutality and the 1981 jailhouse death of Cal State Long Beach football player Ron Settles.

City officials credit McCrary with restoring public confidence in the department and improving morale.

Singer joined the police force as an officer in November, 1979, and rose through the ranks to deputy chief, a post he has held since July, 1993. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in public administration at Cal State Long Beach.