by Stephen Strichart
I was informed on Nov. 11 that Deputy Chief Robert Luna was appointed the new chief of police for the City of Long Beach. I take pen in hand to tell our readers how happy this makes me feel.
The city manager of Long Beach, who, when faced with a difficult choice, one that will affect one of the largest single city employee groups, made the right decision.
For those of our readers that may not know, I am a retired Long Beach police officer. I joined the force on Oct. 6, 1969 and retired after 31 years on Dec. 30, 2000.
Over the years, the City of Long Beach has gone outside the police department on three different occasions to hire a chief of police from another agency. This would be someone who did not come up through the ranks of the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) and, therefore, has no real connection with the City, its department or the men and woman who work there.
The first time, they hired a commander from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). I remember him well. Although he tried, he never had a chance. The idea of having an “outsider” running the department rubbed everyone the wrong way. After a few years, he retired. It wasn’t until after he was gone that we realized he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.
The second time the City went outside looking for a chief was a disaster. They hired a top commander from LAPD. The first thing he did was try to make LBPD a smaller version of LAPD. Of course this, for the most part, failed. As time went on, north Long Beach had to be turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) because Long Beach had not hired any new police officers in about five years, and the fact that a large number of officers were leaving the force to go to other departments left LBPD short-handed. To many officers, it looked like the new chief had been brought in to break the union and turn the city over to the Sheriff’s Department. At the time, one of the city councilmen was a LASD sergeant, and I believe that would have made him very happy. The business community was against the idea of “going sheriffs,” was up in arms and demanded changes be made. The chief was given all the blame— not that he didn’t deserve it— was fired, and more officers were hired.
A few years ago, the City once more went outside to look for a chief. At that time, I was wondering why, as there were so many good choices for chief here in Long Beach. But I guess the third time was the charm, because James McDonnell was a good choice. He fit in, the department staff appeared to welcome him, and they worked well together. I have met him on a number of occasions, and I too am impressed. I wish him all the luck in the world on his new position as sheriff of Los Angeles County. I know he will do a fine job for them.
Well, that story was a long way around to get to my view on Robert Luna’s promotion. I have known him for a number of years. Of course I am a little older than he, but I watched him climb up through the ranks, and, most importantly, he has never forgotten what it is to be a “street cop,” as do so many command officers. Back before McDonnell was appointed LBPD chief, I ran into Luna at a function, and I told him I thought he would be an excellent choice for chief. After McDonnell was appointed, I ran into Luna again, and I remember telling him to “hang in there.” I still believed he would be chief some day.
So, here’s to you, Robert Luna. Congratulations on your promotion. I know they picked the right guy for the job.
