Santa Ana Police Chief Says He’ll Stay, Gets 7.5% Raise

Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters, recently courted to head the Riverside Police Department, has decided to stay after the City Council voted Tuesday to increase his salary.

“Riverside was negotiating a contract, and there were still a lot of things to be done,” Walters said after the vote. “Santa Ana just said, ‘We want to keep you. What will it take?’ And it was all over.”

The city’s offer came about 6 p.m., just an hour after Riverside’s latest bid. Under the terms approved in a closed session of the Santa Ana council, Walters will be paid about $152,000 a year, a 7.5% increase.

Though the amount was slightly less than the $155,000 a year that Riverside had most recently offered, Walters said, he decided to accept it because he is comfortable in Santa Ana, where he has served as chief for 12 years.

“There are just so many positive things that we have accomplished here,” the chief said, “and there were so many partners. If I’d gone to Riverside, I’d have had to start over, and that takes years. The most important thing for me was the security of my family. I’d have had to commit to a long time and lots of work, and it had to be worth the sacrifice that the family would have made.”

Walters, a nationally recognized pioneer in community-oriented policing, had been mulling over the move since last month, when Riverside officials approached him with a proposal to lead a police agency that has weathered charges of racism since white officers shot and killed a black motorist 18 months ago.

When Santa Ana City Manager David N. Ream called Walters at home Tuesday evening with news of his raise, it took the chief less than a minute to decide, City Council members said. Several said they are very happy.

“I’m just ecstatic,” Councilwoman Patricia A. McGuigan said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled. He’s done so much for the people of this community that I hated the thought of losing him.”

Councilwoman Alberta D. Christy agreed. “Needless to say, the community at large and the men and women of the police force are very pleased that the council took this action,” she said. “We have the best of the best, and when you have that you don’t want to share him with other cities.”