Interim LAPD Chief Loses Bid for Top Reno Police Job

Interim Los Angeles Police Chief Bayan Lewis, who was a finalist for the chief’s job in Reno, was not selected for the position, authorities said Friday.

Reno City Manager Charles McNeely has selected Chief Jerry Hoover of St. Joseph, Mo., to head the Police Department. McNeely’s selection, which was announced late Thursday, still must be approved by the Reno City Council.

Lewis said he was disappointed by McNeely’s decision, but respects “his right to make it.”

The Reno police union supported Lewis for the job and will show its displeasure with McNeely’s choice in an ad that is expected to run Sunday in a local newspaper.

“I think it’s a loss for Reno,” said Dave Hepburn, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. “We think a lot of Chief Lewis, but that’s Reno’s choice to make.”

Lewis, 55, was named LAPD’s interim chief last month to replace former Chief Willie L. Williams, who accepted a severance deal and left the job early after he was denied a second five-year term.

Lewis won the interim job, in part, because he said he had no intention to become a candidate for the permanent chief’s position.

At that time, he knew he was a finalist for the Reno job and said he planned to retire to Nevada when his stint as interim chief is over later this summer. Lewis reiterated Friday that he is not a candidate for the job of permanent LAPD chief.

In other Los Angeles Police Department developments Friday, two top executives who have been threatened with demotion if they don’t retire this summer are appealing their case to the City Council.

In a letter to council President John Ferraro, Assistant Chiefs Ronald C. Banks and Frank Piersol refer to their 30-plus years of “exemplary service” and ask the council to intervene so they are not forced to end their careers in a “demeaning and unsatisfactory” manner by altering retirement plans that were decided long ago. Ferraro said he would decide next week whether to hold a closed session on the matter.

Lewis removed Banks and Piersol from their top-ranked posts when he took over the department. He has also warned them that he will demote them to a lower salary bracket, which would downgrade their pensions, if they do not leave the department by July 6.

Times staff writer Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this report.