Retired chief returns to lead Newport police until replacement is hired

Retired Police Chief Jay Johnson has reclaimed his position as leader of the Newport Beach Police Department while city officials search for the next chief.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 6 to 0 to approve a contract with Johnson that guarantees him hourly pay of $111.03 as interim chief. Johnson could work a maximum of 960 hours annually, according to the contract. However, city leaders expect the new chief to be selected within six months.

The city will not be responsible for the cost of Johnson’s medical benefits and will not contribute further to his retirement, according to the contract.

“This will provide the city with a savings during the period when there is no full-time, benefited police chief,” a city staff report states.

Johnson, 50, officially retired in late December but offered to stay on as acting chief for the first several months of 2016 while the city selects his replacement.

The city charter requires officials to open the position to candidates both inside and outside the Police Department.

City Manager Dave Kiff, who ultimately will choose the next chief, with council approval, said the process will take at least two months and possibly as long as six months.

Kiff said he considered appointing one or more of the department’s two deputy chiefs to fill Johnson’s position for now, but decided against it because they likely will be candidates for the job.

“For fairness, it makes a lot more sense to have Jay come back,” Kiff said.

Deputy Chief Dave McGill, who oversees detectives, and Deputy Chief Jon Lewis, who heads operations, have expressed interest in the top post. Johnson has voiced support for one or the other becoming chief.

Johnson began his tenure as Newport Beach’s ninth police chief in June 2010.

Before that, he was a commander in the Long Beach Police Department, where he spent most of his career. In his later years there, he oversaw the city’s South Division, which included the downtown and harbor areas.

During Johnson’s time in Newport Beach, the city saw record low crime rates in 2013 and 2014.

However, in 2015, crime levels began creeping up for the first time in about a decade. Johnson attributed the increase to legislation including the state’s prison realignment plan in 2011, which aims to move some offenders from state prisons to county jails; Proposition 36 in 2012, which relaxed the state’s three-strikes law; and Proposition 47 in 2014, which reclassified many low-level felonies as misdemeanors that carry lesser penalties.

Despite the uptick, crime is still below Newport’s five-year average, Johnson said.