Double Duty: Interim Chief Steve Willis (left) and Interim Deputy Chief Don MacQuarrie step into a tumultuous Seaside Police Department after the sudden Aug. 10 suspension of Chief Steve Cercone. Nic Coury
Temp Cop Two
Interim Deputy Police Chief joins new Interim Police Chief at Seaside PD.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Two weeks ago, Seaside City Manager Ray Corpuz placed Police Chief Steve Cercone on paid administrative leave, replacing him with Interim Chief Steve Willis.
Now Willis has brought a new second-in-command to town: Interim Deputy Chief Don MacQuarrie, who started work Aug. 24.
Willis says he worked as a police officer for the city of Sausalito for 33 years, the last five as chief, before retiring in 2000. Since then, he's done stints as interim chief in Healdsburg, Sonoma, Cloverdale and Fort Bragg. In his free time, he enjoys antiquing with his wife and plucking a ukulele—"I don't play it that well."
The city is putting Willis up in a hotel from Monday through Friday, and he returns to his home in Sausalito on the weekends, he says. He's being paid at a rate of $78 per hour, with no benefits.
MacQuarrie has more than 33 years experience in the police force, including 14 years as a captain, says Willis, who claims the interim deputy chief will bring much-needed oversight to the SSPD administration: "Even the people that are in the positions lack experience."
SSPD employees have been instructed not to discuss Cercone's leave, but Willis says officer morale is OK: "I feel they're receptive to my being here, under the circumstances."
For more, check out the Weekly's print edition on Thursday.
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