Over Time: P.G. Police Chief Darius Engles says he's been fed up with the department's shrinking staff for years. Nic Coury
P.G. Police Chief to Resign
Darius Engles says he's had enough, too.
Monday, August 17, 2009
First the city manager. Then the mayor. Now the police chief.
One by one, Pacific Grove's top officials are stepping down.
The latest announcement came from P.G. Police Chief Darius Engles, who submitted his resignation Aug. 12—barely a week after Mayor Dan Cort said he'll step down at the end of the month. Interim City Manager Charlene Wiseman, who is filling in after the resignation of former city manager Jim Colangelo last year, has made it clear she won't stay a day past Aug. 31.
The police chief says he'll probably file retirement papers in order to draw his CalPERS benefits, but "it really is a resignation...Retirement wasn’t the reason.”
Engles says the mayor's resignation has nothing to do with his own. He's fed up with the city's money problems, which has whittled the force down from 28 full-time officers in 2005 to an average of 19 today. Now the city is asking the department to cut even more, he says.
“A police chief really wants to make sure that they can do the task before them. To do that, you need personnel. Obviously we’re not right-sized, and we’ve been asked to lose another position," he says. "Future cuts in this time are just not what a chief needs. I just don’t agree with the levels that we’re at, and I don’t see it getting any better. It’s gonna take a fresh, energized person person to take over.”
Engles has been with the PGPD for 11 years and served as chief for the past two and a half. His resignation will take effect in January.
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