Story Created:
Jan 21, 2010 at 10:51 AM PST
Story Updated:
Jan 21, 2010 at 10:51 AM PST
MONTEBELLO — Police Chief Dan Weast, who was placed on administrative leave last month, has submitted his resignation after working out a settlement with the city.
Interim City Administrator Randy Narramore said he negotiated with Weast’s attorney last week and through the weekend on a severance package that will pay Weast $144,000 plus retirement benefits.
Weast, who was appointed chief in February 2008, was named in a $30 million discrimination claim filed by 13 police officers last July, who accused the chief of being a racist and only promoting his “white friends.”
Prior to his appointment as chief, he had served as head of the Montebello Police Officers Association. His appointment as chief was considered by critics as a payback for his endorsement of Kathy Salazar and Robert Urteaga in the November 2007 City Council election.
Salazar and Urteaga both won seats on the council that year, switching the balance of power on the City Council. The two are now the target of a recall election Feb. 23.
At the time of his appointment, Weast came under fire for his education background. He did not graduate from high school but instead had a general equivalency diploma and had no college degree, either.
The lawsuit filed by the officers last year caused further splits in the department.
Narramore said he was trying to negotiate a settlement with the disgruntled officers that would reduce the city’s liability.
He also said he was close to announcing an interim chief while also beginning a search for a permanent chief.
That search could take up to four months, Mayor Bill Molinari said.
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