Laguna Beach Police Chief Will Retire

After 35 years in uniform and a career punctuated by the 1968 arrest of drug guru Timothy Leary and a horrifying firestorm in 1993, Laguna Beach Police Chief Neil Purcell announced Wednesday that he will retire in March.

Purcell, who began his career in 1961 as a reserve officer in Newport Beach, stepped into the limelight the year he moved to Laguna Beach, with the narcotics-related arrest of Leary, who died earlier this year.

During a news conference Wednesday, the staunchly anti-drug Purcell, 56, said the arrest was a highlight of his life, not because it gave his career a boost but because it resulted in Leary serving time in prison.

“Leary used to like to say he credited his arrest with my becoming chief,” Purcell said. “I don’t.”

During his nearly three decades in Laguna Beach, the silver-haired chief has been credited with bridging the gap between police and the gay community and with implementing community policing techniques that increase police visibility and make officers more accessible to residents.

“I think he’s been the perfect chief for this community,” City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said Wednesday. Purcell is also lauded for taking an activist role in fighting the AIDS epidemic, which struck this city particularly hard. Purcell served on the city’s HIV Advisory Council for a decade.

“I think Chief Purcell has been a model police chief for Orange County because of his ability to work in such a diverse city as Laguna Beach,” said former Mayor Robert F. Gentry, who served on the City Council for 12 years while Purcell was chief. “I don’t know of another police chief in the country who came up to the plate as early as 1984 to help us take care of community members who were sick with a disease we knew nothing about, how it was caused or where it was going.”

While announcing his retirement Wednesday morning, Purcell said he is building a home in Big Sky, Mont., where he plans to live eight months a year and where his wife, Michelle, raises horses. He will keep a smaller home in Laguna Beach for the other four months.

“I think there comes a time where it’s just time to move on, to do some other things and make room for others,” Purcell said. “I feel good that I’m leaving, I think, on the crest of the wave.”

Purcell will be replaced by Deputy Chief Jim Spreine, who has worked 16 years in Laguna Beach after an 11-year stint with the San Clemente Police Department. Spreine, 50, said he plans no major changes for the department.

“My immediate feeling is, if it’s not broken, why fix it?” he said.

As news of the switch filtered through the department, which has 47 sworn officers, employees said the mood was subdued.

“It’s sort of like having a family member decide to leave suddenly,” said Capt. Paul Workman, who has been with the department since 1975.

“We recognize this is going to be a big change,” said Lt. Danell Adams, who has worked with Purcell for almost 24 years. “He’s like a father. It’s really hard.”

Officer George Ramos, president of the Laguna Beach Police Employees’ Assn., said he and Purcell have had their differences but he enjoyed working with the chief. “He’s a good man, there’s never been any doubt about that,” he said. “He will be missed not only by myself but by all the officers here.”

While others, including Purcell, praised Spreine’s appointment, Ramos was less pleased.

“We were hoping the city would cast a wide net and look for the most qualified candidate they could possibly find,” Ramos said. “This does come as a surprise.”

It’s hard to imagine that Spreine’s tenure could be studded with events as diverse as those Purcell has juggled during his years in Laguna Beach.

The chief’s memories include the 1970 “Christmas Happening” in Laguna Canyon, a love-in-style event that drew more than 25,000 people and shut down the city for four days. The festival turned into a weeklong party with guests refusing to leave until police donned riot gear and--singing “Here Comes Santa Claus”--broke it up.

But the most emotional and trying experience of his career, Purcell said, was the 1993 fire, which damaged or destroyed 441 homes in and around Laguna Beach.

“It’s difficult to this day for me to even discuss it,” he said, pausing briefly before going on to describe how it felt as “director of public safety” to hover in a helicopter as homes burned below. “It’s an experience I’ll never forget. . . .”

Purcell is praised by some residents for steps he has taken to change the techniques and attitudes of police officers, including putting officers on foot, bicycle and all-terrain-vehicle beach patrols. Over the years, he has also made a determined effort to ensure that gays were treated fairly by police.

Gentry, an activist in the gay community, recalls how police, who had previously staged “modified raids” on gay bars, began walking patrols paired with gays after Purcell became chief, an early step in Purcell’s community policing push.

“It was revolutionary,” Gentry said. “And it worked.”

Purcell’s attitude toward gays caused a local uproar in 1993 when he announced that the city’s Police Department would not comply with the Boy Scouts of America’s policy banning openly gay people from joining the Police Explorer program. Some residents, while supporting Purcell’s determination not to discriminate against gays, feared the city would lose the program. It did not.

A low point in his career, Purcell said, was the 1990 incident involving a city police officer who was videotaped kicking at a man who was struggling on a sidewalk with two other officers. The victim, Kevin A. Dunbar, sued the city, eventually settling out of court for $100,000.

In another personal setback, in 1993, Purcell underwent quintuple bypass surgery.

Currently, another potential controversy is tapping on the department door, with some people complaining about the police treatment of a self-described holistic healer who was arrested in Laguna Beach in October.

It’s clear, however, that for the chief who calls himself “a street cop,” first and foremost, the good times outweigh the bad. And with his replacement at his side--the two dressed almost identically in navy blue blazers and pale blue shirts--Purcell admitted it will be tough to let go.

“Police work has become not just a job and profession for me, but a way of life,” he said. “I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever had a boring day.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Career of Service

Neil Purcell, Laguna Beach chief of police for the past 14 years, will retire after more than three decades of public service. Highlights of his career:

* 1961: Begins law enforcement career as a Newport Beach reserve police officer.

* 1964: Sworn in as regular full- time officer.

* 1968: Shortly after joining Laguna Beach Police Department, arrests Timothy Leary on narcotics charges that lead to Leary’s only prison term.

* 1973: Nominated one of five “Super Cops” in United States.

* 1975: Promoted to captain of Laguna Beach Police Department.

* 1982: Appointed permanent chief of police.

* 1990: Endures a public relations debacle for his department after a resident videotapes an officer kicking at a man struggling with police on the sidewalk.

* 1993: Coordinates efforts to fight Laguna Beach fires.

* 1996: Retires from law enforcement.

Source: City of Laguna Beach