After a delay, Long Beach to swear in new police chief

Long Beach’s new police commissioner will finally be sworn in Friday, after a delay of two months to sort out red tape before he could take the helm of the force.

Ron Walsh, 55, of Locust Valley, who served 28 years with the Nassau County Police Department, was waiting for a state waiver that would allow him to work for Long Beach while continuing to collect a state pension.

Walsh will receive a $189,500 salary to lead the city’s department of 65 sworn officers after his hire was approved by the state Civil Service Commission. His initial request was denied by the state board, which he said was caused by paperwork omissions during a cyberattack at City Hall in December.

The state board approved a two-year waiver last week for Walsh to receive an annual salary above $35,000 while collecting his pension.

His health benefits and pension will be covered by Nassau County. Had he stayed with Nassau, he said he was on track to make $295,000. Walsh and city officials said the pension may save Long Beach close to $100,000 in benefit payments.

Walsh has been working as a consultant with the city since December after the state granted a temporary waiver through Feb. 28. He said he is buying a home in Freeport and has been working to improve the city’s cybersecurity, meeting with community groups and shoveling snow in the North Park community.

Thursday was his final day with Nassau County, where he served as the chief of support.

Walsh was born in Long Beach and as a teenager worked as a summer special officer in the city before joining the Department of Justice in Manhattan.

"I’m very excited about an opportunity for men and women in Long Beach to believe in something and there’s a catalyst for that to take place," Walsh said, referring to the drive to strengthen the connection with city residents.

Long Beach selected Walsh over interim Commissioner Phil Ragona, to succeed the city’s police commissioner of 42 years, Michael Tangney. Tangney and Ragona are both retired.

"We are committed to the kind of progressive contemporary policing and public safety that Chief Walsh advocates for and practices. Policing today is about listening, transparency, respect for the power and pride of diversity within our community, and having law enforcement partners who are committed to serving our community through inclusion practices that build consensus," Long Beach City Council president John Bendo said in a statement. "The Council has high expectations of Chief Walsh and the department and we are delighted that he is ready to begin to serve our community."

Walsh said his first priority for the department is to improve the relationship with the community and follow police reforms that the city has to draft and submit to the state in April.

"When you’re a leader, you want to run the organization so the community and the police department can get on the same page," Walsh said. "As problems, incidents and crises arrive, you don’t have to wait for patterns."

He said he wants to bring training to help officers identify implicit bias when interacting with the community.

"When people go through the training, they learn they hold a bias they don’t recognize. Your immediate reaction is to interpret what it means," Walsh said. "You’re not able to cure it, but you make it your awareness about initial decisions and educate whether it’s the right decision to make a snap judgment and have the training to be self-aware."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.