Top brass takes new tack

Deepa Bharath

In the last 16 years, Costa Mesa Police Chief Dave Snowden has

seen a city grow from the ground.

He’s seen roads paved, wires grounded and people multiply. He’s

watched children die and victims cry. He’s seen himself build a

Police Department and make a connection with a diverse community.

He’s had his laughs and shed a lot of tears.

Now, he’s ready to move on.

On June 30, the 59-year-old chief will walk out of his office and

not return.

The very thought brings tears to Snowden’s eyes, although he has

been planning retirement for a while.

Officially, he has been retired for a year now. In June, the city

entered into an agreement with the chief in which he would retire and

then continue part-time, working 960 hours a year.

But the word part-time doesn’t mean a thing, Snowden said. That’s

because he worked 960 hours from June to December and will work the

same number of hours from Jan. 1 to June 30 -- which, he says,

amounts to full-time work.

“I had to do it last year because not doing so would have cost me

24% of my retirement salary for life,” he said. “I didn’t make the

decision to retire. The system made that decision for me.”

Technicalities aside, it has been an emotional time for the chief,

who takes pride in everything he was hired to do and more, he said.

“I feel proud just walking down the back door to work,” Snowden

said. “The fact that our officers won eight out of 10 [Mothers

Against Drunk Driving] awards [for DUI enforcement] makes me proud.

Pinning the badge on a new cop with his family watching -- that’s a

great feeling. Promotions are always special.”

And after a pause, he adds, choking up: “Wearing my uniform.”

For a man who fancies himself a cowboy at heart, collects antique

guns and is considered a tough police officer, the tears come easily.

His brightly lighted office -- the one with the open door -- bears

testimony to the personality that his subordinates adore.

Alongside a book about knives and daggers is another about golf

equipment. In a lighted glass case are police and firefighter hats

from Britain, Russia, Germany and Norway. On the wall is a poster of

all-time favorite cowboys and a collection of framed business cards,

including those belonging to John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Howard

Hughes and, to inject a bit of humor, A. Lincoln, an attorney at law,

and Dr. Albert Einstein, a physics professor.

It’s such a wonderful mix of qualities that makes him a great

chief, said Mesa Verde resident Cindy Brenneman.

“It’s a huge loss to the city,” she said. “He has been a great

asset to our city and has the respect of his peers and officers.

Those are big shoes to fill.”

Nobody knows that better than City Manager Alan Roeder, who hired

Snowden -- then Montebello’s police chief.

“I’m very proud of the job he has done with the department, the

community and the city organization,” Roeder said. “He was, at that

time, absolutely the right person for the job. I’ve always been very

appreciative of his loyalty and the fact that the two of us can have

honest disagreements and still have a perfect working relationship.”

Roeder said he is in the process of putting together a plan for

hiring Snowden’s successor, one that would likely involve the chief

himself.

“I hope to talk to council members and the community about not who

to hire, but about what qualities the new chief should have,” he

said.

The key to hiring the perfect fit depends on the answer to that

question, Roeder said.

Some of the qualities he would look for in the new chief would be

all the qualities Snowden has demonstrated, he said.

“Ability to communicate within the department and with the

community, display leadership, be active in the community,” Roeder

said. “Above all, the chief must not approach this just as a job. He

needs to look at it as much more than that.”

Roeder said a new chief will likely be hired much before June 30,

Snowden’s last day at work. The city will not use a search firm, but

will consider candidates inside and outside the department, he said.

Mayor Karen Robinson said the city will look for a chief who will

be a “firm and compassionate law enforcement officer” with good

administrative skills.

The chief “should be mindful of the budget and ensure there are

adequate police services for the community,” she said. “Chief Snowden

did that very well. It’s been an honor and a privilege to have worked

with him.”

Officers who have worked with the chief said he will be sorely

missed.

“He has been an extremely popular chief,” said Sgt. Burt Santee,

who has worked in the department for 23 years. “He made some

excellent improvements. He changed policies and procedures and made

them so much more user-friendly.”

Santee said Snowden was also “well liked by the public.”

“How can you not like Chief Snowden?” he asked. “That’s just not

possible.”

Snowden has had several accomplishments during his sojourn as

chief. But one he considers significant, he says, is helping set up

the Airborne Law Enforcement, or helicopter patrol, by striking a

partnership with Newport Beach.

He also treasures the connections he has made with the community.

He does not have a problem with diversity. He welcomes it, he said.

As a member of the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, he helped

integrate the chamber with the Latino Business Organization, which

existed as a separate entity.

“Why can’t we all blend in?” Snowden said. “It has to do with

tolerance and patience and the desire to make it work.”

Jean Forbath, founder of local charity Share Our Selves, recalls

having lunch with Snowden soon after he became chief.

“He has been a friend since,” she said. “He has given the Police

Department a human face. He’s a friend to the people we serve at

Share Our Selves. He was tough when he needed to be. But he has

always been there to help us.”

Snowden says he remembers days when even his so-called tough

facade collapsed on the job. The day he had to deliver the eulogy for

23-year-old Denise Huber, who was murdered by John Famalaro in 1991.

The Newport Beach resident’s body was found three years later in

Arizona in a freezer kept in Famalaro’s truck. Famalaro currently

sits on death row.

More recently, Snowden felt similar pain when he held the dead

body of 4-year-old Sierra Soto, who was killed when Steven Abrams

crashed his car into her preschool playground in May 1999. He had to

tell Sierra’s mother, Cindy Soto, that her daughter had died.

“Those are days that you would never forget,” Snowden said.

He plans to be active in the community after his retirement.

Snowden is a member of the Hoag Foundation’s board. Right after his

retirement, he also plans to participate in a golf tournament in

Scotland.

His wife, Ellyn, said she has not met too many people like her

husband.

“He’s a caring, warm human being,” she said. “I’ve seen him

agonize over situations where he had to reprimand an officer or fire

someone. He took everything personally.”

She remembers his leadership when two helicopter pilots -- one of

them from Costa Mesa -- died in a crash in 1987 while chasing a

stolen vehicle. That incident happened barely a year after he had

come on board.

“Dave had to step up and support people he didn’t even know too

well at the time,” she said. “But that didn’t matter to him. He’s

always been someone who wants the best for his department.”

Being the police chief has been more than a job for her husband,

Ellyn Snowden said.

“It’s his life, his family,” she said. “Walking out of that police

station is the hardest thing he’s ever going to have to do.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].