Newport Beach police chief to retire by end of year

Newport Beach’s top cop is stepping down this December, according to an announcement made by the city on Thursday.

“While we will miss his leadership tremendously, Chief [Jon] Lewis leaves behind an exceptional department that will ensure the continuation of excellent public safety service to our community,” City Manager Grace Leung said in a statement. “We thank Chief Lewis for his many years of service and wish him the very best in retirement.”

Leung confirmed that Newport Beach Deputy Police Chief Joe Cartwright would step into Lewis’ role temporarily as a search is held for his successor.

Lewis, 49, said there isn’t any special reason for his retirement.

“I was eligible for a service retirement this year and it just made sense timing-wise from a family perspective, but also in terms of the state of the department right now — it’s super strong and it was a good time to make the move,” Lewis said in an interview Friday.

“The department, through an innovative, data-driven approach to crime-fighting, we’ve reduced crime rates in this city over the past five years to historic lows,” Lewis said. “Now, that’s not something that the police department does all on its own, but it really led in the effort. I think that’s something our department can be proud of, especially as you see all these other things going on in the state.

“I think we have an outstanding leadership team and they absolutely have the ability to improve on some of these initiatives we’ve conducted, and we’re also hiring amazing police officers and we’re seeing some really good people as my generation is starting to make its way out.”

Lewis oversees a department of more than 200 full-time employees across four divisions and a variety of specialized units. He was named chief in 2016 and has spent his entire law enforcement career, which began in 1991, with the city.

Lewis climbed up through the ranks, joining the department as a full-time officer in 1996 before eventually being promoted to deputy chief in 2014. He is the 10th police chief in the department’s history.

He said Cartwright would do well in his interim role, describing him as an “outstanding law enforcement leader and professional.”

As for what Lewis’ future holds, he at first joked that he’d go surfing every day for about a month. Then he added he intends to spend more time with his two children and that he will eventually be teaching leadership and ethics for criminal justice at Cal State Long Beach, his alma mater. Additionally, he plans on doing some private sector counseling.

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