Rialto Police Chief Mark Kling came out of retirement and returned to his former department to make sure of one thing: that it never goes back to the way it was.

“This is an all-end game,” Kling said in a interview at the Rialto Police Department. “We’re not going back where we were. We’re not. What we’re doing is moving forward.”

Years of dysfunctional leadership and plummeting morale at the department prompted the City Council to persuade Kling to return in December 2017 and whip the department back into shape. Kling, who served as Rialto’s top cop from 2006 to 2011, said he agreed so long as the city provided three things: commitment, money and personnel.

“I said, ‘You give me those three things, watch what we do,’ ” he said.

Arbequina Ice Cream, made with olive oil, is a cold, delicious treat that’s perfect for Labor Day weekend. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)

Arbequina Ice Cream, made with olive oil, is a cold, delicious treat that’s perfect for Labor Day weekend. (Photo by Cathy Thomas)

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Kling said the city has been very supportive. Within the past two years, the number of police officers on the force has climbed from 99 to 116, and Kling said he plans to ask for more in February when the City Council budget process ramps up.

He also hired two commanding officers from outside the department — Anthony Vega, a former lieutenant at Cal State San Bernardino and nearly 20-year veteran of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, and Mark Adams, a former lieutenant at the Baldwin Park Police Department, where Kling formerly served as chief of police from 2001 to 2006.

Collectively, Vega and Adams have 45 years of law enforcement experience between them, and both were promoted to the rank of captain when they joined the Rialto police force. They likely will be leading the department after Kling departs as part of his succession plan.

Kling and his command staff also have bolstered police officer training to not only meet, but exceed state Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) standards. An internal audit in May revealed that most of the department’s officers — 95 of 99 — failed to meet basic POST training requirements in 2017 and 2018.

Years of dysfunction

Years of leadership dysfunction, complacency and plummeting morale underscored Kling’s return to the department. The chief was reluctant to discuss the problems that existed prior to his return.

“I really don’t want to put an emphasis on the past. Going forward, it doesn’t concern me or this Police Department other than historical data we can learn from,” Kling said.

Glen Anderson, a former Rialto police K-9 officer who is suing the city, his former chief, Randy DeAnda, and Councilman Ed Scott in federal court for wrongful termination, claims dirty politics factored into his firing and that he was the victim of a “witch hunt.”

He said a spate of internal affairs investigations were launched against him after he told someone via text message that some city officials were under scrutiny for misappropriating public funds, and that it was “politics as usual in Rialto.”

“I was an honorable police officer, and I care about the men and women there, and this is typical Rialto politics,” Anderson said in a telephone interview. “And I hope the feds are taking a look at this, because the stuff here needs to be brought to the forefront.”

But Anderson said he has no qualms with Kling. “I worked for Mark Kling for many years,” he said. “I think Kling is a very fair man.”

According to a trial brief filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of the city, DeAnda and Scott, Anderson was the subject of four internal affairs investigations from March to October 2016. He was fired in February 2017 after the investigations concluded Anderson violated 24 police department policies in connection with “unauthorized construction projects,” which sources close to the investigation say had to do with a K-9 training facility Anderson was heading.

A federal judge dismissed four of Anderson’s five claims, leaving intact the allegation of hostile work environment. Anderson appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which agreed to hear the case. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 6 in Pasadena, he said.

Damning manifesto leaked

In August 2016, a lurid 10-page “manifesto” by an anonymous author was leaked to the public alleging widespread corruption and unethical conduct in the city and at the Police Department. Among the myriad allegations included a police corporal accused of cloning and selling cellular phones and a sergeant suspected of embezzling thousands of dollars from the city using a department-issued credit card to regularly fill the gas tanks of his personal vehicles.

Also alleged was widespread cronyism, nepotism, and sexual harassment. And Scott, the councilman, was accused of using police officers as his own security force for the Irish pub he formerly owned, O’Leary’s.

Scott called the allegations about him “fake news.”

“Absolute bull and untrue,” he said in a telephone interview. He said he is certain the information was leaked from someone inside the Police Department, but he doesn’t know who. “If I ever find out who, I will sue them. The stuff they said about me and about others is absolutely untrue,” Scott said.

Confronting the past, facing the future

However, Scott did acknowledge problems with cronyism, nepotism and excessive use of force at the Police Department.

“About a year ago, maybe two years ago, we had our HR director implement a nepotism policy,” Scott said. “While it’s not illegal and does exist in just about every city, it’s not always a good thing to do, so we instituted a policy which essentially says we don’t allow nepotism. This issue is all over the city, it’s just not in the Police Department.”

“We’ve had some excessive-force issues, and I don’t want to see that going on in the department, nor does Kling or any of our officers,” Scott said. “I want to see lawsuits cut to a bare minimum. I just want to see an efficient, well-run department, and we’ve left that up to Kling to do.”

Both Kling and Scott do not blame the problems on any particular official or police chief.

“Each police chief has had a different management style,” Scott said.

DeAnda, the former chief who retired in December 2017, added: “Every chief faces their challenges, internally and externally. Mine happened to be some personnel issues I inherited from the previous chief. Different police chiefs handle their disciplinary policies differently.”

‘Excited to be here’

During a recent tour of the police station, Kling pointed out enhanced security with surveillance cameras in just about every common and highly sensitive area and a new, more spacious watch commander’s office in a more visible location.

Although the department still occupies an antiquated building and houses its investigations and traffic details in modulars, Kling makes do, and points out the department facilities’ strengths, not weaknesses. They include an underground, in-house firing range where officers hone their shooting skills.

Morale appears to be on the upswing, according to some of the rank-and-file.

“We’re all excited to be here,” Officer Jorge Brambila said before heading into the basement firing range for some target practice. He said one of the most noticeable differences since Kling’s return is the increased staffing levels and the value placed on each and every employee, sworn and civilian.

“I think Kling came back because we needed someone who could hit the ground running,” said Sgt. Richard Royce, president of the Rialto Police Offices Association. “As a union leader, I’ve heard zero complaints from this administration. Discipline that has come down has been fair. I really haven’t heard anything negative. What I’ve seen is things starting to move.”

Kling said he will continue pushing to hire more officers so the residents and business owners of Rialto get the best policing and protection possible. And he will be very selective about who he hires.

“We’re going to hire the best of the best, not the best of the rest,” he said.