Crowd of 400 Fetes Retiring Laguna Beach Police Chief

About 400 people, including dozens of police officers from throughout Orange County, gathered at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station on Thursday night for an emotional farewell party for Laguna Beach Police Chief Neil Purcell, who will retire March 2 after serving the city for almost three decades.

The $35-per-plate dinner was the first of two retirement galas scheduled for Purcell, who is moving to a new home in Big Sky, Mont., next month.

Among the guests were Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, Sheriff Brad Gates, several county judges and about 20 current and retired county police chiefs.

“I wrote to just about everybody I could think of that was anybody,” said Deputy Chief Jim Spreine, who organized the party and will become this city’s new police chief March 3.

Purcell, 57, who underwent quintuple bypass surgery in 1993, also received letters of recognition from President Bill Clinton and former President George Bush and an inscribed photo from former President Ronald Reagan.

“They were invited, if they wanted to attend, and if they wanted to pay $35,” Spreine said of the trio of presidents. “There’s only a couple people getting a free meal and that’s my Explorer Scouts. And they’re going to be working.”

The silver-haired police chief gained fame early in his career when, as a rookie officer in Laguna Beach, he arrested drug guru Timothy Leary. But Purcell has said the most riveting memory of his 35 years in uniform was the 1993 fire that damaged or destroyed 441 homes in and around Laguna Beach.

Mingling in the crowd, Purcell seemed stunned by the turnout. “It’s overwhelming, absolutely overwhelming,” he said.

Purcell is well-loved in Laguna Beach, where he has been praised for implementing community policing techniques and mending once-frayed relations between the gay community and the city’s Police Department. City Manager Kenneth C. Frank called Purcell “the perfect chief for this community” and city police officers say they feel they are losing a family member.

“This is difficult because it really hasn’t set in yet,” said Jude Gardner, the chief’s secretary. “He’s kind of one in a million. I don’t think there is a soul in the department who isn’t going to miss him.”

Following a dinner of sirloin strips and chicken cordon bleu, the chief’s old friends and co-workers took turns at the dais recounting, as Spreine put it, “fond memories and famous war stories.” The master of ceremonies was Dave Brown, a close friend of Purcell’s who once worked for the Laguna Beach Police Department.

Purcell will also be the guest of honor at an informal party at Legion Hall in Laguna Beach on Feb. 26 from 4 to 7 p.m. The hall is at 384 Legion St.