Chief of Police in Simi Valley to Retire

Simi Valley Police Chief Mark Layhew, the city’s first officer to rise through the ranks from patrolman to chief, has decided to retire.

Layhew, 54, said he had been considering retirement for two years. His last day on the job in Simi Valley will be Aug. 11.

He said he and his wife, Holly, will move later this summer with their two teenage children from Moorpark to Washington state, where his in-laws live and where he is entertaining several job offers.

“For me, retirement is just the gateway for a new career,” said Layhew, who joined the department in 1975, shortly after graduating from Cal State Long Beach.

Mayor Paul Miller, himself a former city police chief, lauded Layhew’s leadership during major events, such as the June 2004 funeral of former President Reagan, last fall’s dedication of the Air Force One pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library just outside the city and the opening of the community’s first regional mall.

“Mark has been a solid performer in all his years with the department. We will miss him,” Miller said. “ ... Any chief’s success is linked to his ability to work with his people, and Mark excelled in that.”

City Manager Mike Sedell, who will consult the mayor and City Council before appointing the next chief, praised Layhew for maintaining a low crime rate and performing well when events thrust the city into the national spotlight.

“Mark has been a loyal and trusted advisor,” Sedell said. “As the top police officer, he has a unique perspective on the needs and concerns of the city. And I’ve always appreciated that.”

Layhew studied environmental science in college, but he said he never questioned his ultimate career choice.

“Some things changed and opportunities presented themselves, so I went in another direction. But I have no regrets. It’s been very satisfying,” he said.

Layhew, the son of an FBI agent, grew up in Tarzana and attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills.

Simi Valley has undergone many changes in the more than three decades Layhew has served there.

It has grown in population and prestige. Once known as a sleepy bedroom community popular with law enforcement officers, it now has nearly 123,000 residents.

The crime rate is low, and Simi Valley is often cited as one of the safest metropolitan areas of its size.

“Back in the early ‘70s, the community was about half the size it is today, and we had about double the crime” on a percentage basis, Layhew said.

Since then, the Police Department has grown from 95 people to about 200, with 125 budgeted sworn positions.

After working his way through each rank and nearly every detail within the department, Layhew was promoted to chief on Jan 31, 2003.

Capt. Tony Harper, who joined the department about a year after Layhew, said his colleague has always been hardworking and talented.

“He’s a bright individual. He’s extremely analytical and doesn’t make rash decisions. He’s a chief who puts the department first,” Harper said. “Mark has always had the opinion that it’s not about him, it’s about the city, the department and others.”

Det. Bill Daniels, president of the city’s Police Officers Assn., said he respects the chief’s easygoing and collegial manner.

“He was never the type to have an iron fist. He was always open to conversation to see if there is a better way to do things. He’s always had an open-door policy for any employee,” Daniels said.

Layhew is often jokingly described as the institutional memory of the department, Daniels said, because he has binders containing copies of nearly every memo generated in the department over the last 31 years.