Nuñez named La Palma Police Chief

By Loreen Berlin

Eric R. Nuñez was appointed to the position of Chief of Police by La Palma City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto,this past January.
Nuñez is the 10th police chief to serve the city of La Palma and replaces recently retired chief of police Ed Ethell who served La Palma for 29 years.
Nuñez said that right after he graduated in May of 1991 from the Golden West College Police Academy, he was recruited by then Sgt. Ethell to join the La Palma Police Department.
This May, Nuñez will celebrate his 20th year working for the city of La Palma.
“I received a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the University of La Verne and will graduate from the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development with an Executive Masters in Leadership this May also,” Nuñez said.
Until his promotion to sergeant in 1995, Nuñez served as a patrol officer. “As a sergeant, I worked in the Detective Bureau, Administrative Support Bureau and the Patrol Bureau,” he said.
In 2004, Nuñez was promoted from sergeant to captain. The rank of lieutenant no longer exists.
As a captain, Nuñez served as the Services Division Commander for three years, rotating to the Operations Division where he worked from 2006 until 2011 when he was appointed as chief of police.
“I was born in San Pedro on the Fort McArthur Military Base, but moved around with my family because my father, Sgt. Rudolph Nuñez, was in the military,” Nuñez said.
“My father was killed in action June 13, 1966, while serving in the Vietnam War,” he said.
“He was a highly-decorated War Hero, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star,” Nuñez said.
Nuñez said that when Dan Rather, on CBS, told that he had “cut his teeth” as a journalist during the Vietnam War, he had two distinct memories of Vietnam – one was landing there where the U.S. Marines had come under fire - and the second was of a “body recovery,” which CBS replayed as Rather told the story of the Green Beret Airborne Ranger and Nuñez watched the body recovery of his own father as Rather was describing that terrible day.
“I wound up living in Norwalk during my formative years and attended the John Glenn High School named after Astronaut John Glenn,” he said. “We even had a ‘Space Bar; for our snack bar.”
Nuñez said that he joined the service right out of high school; was honorably discharged and went to work full-time and school part-time to get a degree.
“At the age of 29, I decided to follow the footsteps of two of my cousins who were in law enforcement; Chris Nuñez, who has been with the Buena Park Police Department for nearly 30 years, and Mark Nuñez who was at the Fullerton Police Department for 12 years,” Nuñez said.
“While at the Goldenwest Police Academy, I served as president of the class and graduated #2 overall.”
Nuñez said he was a little older when he attended school, was married and divorced and had two young children who were at the time 2 ½ years old and 3 months, for whom he had totally custody.
Nuñez said that he was fortunate to have the assistance of his former in-laws, the Mizer’s. “Lloyd Mizer was the person who purchased my Academy gun and Elizabeth Mizer helped with child care while I was working and attending school.”
In 1995, Nuñez married Molly Finn Nuñez who is a Nurse Practitioner and works at UCI Medical Center as the Cardiology Nurse Manager; she holds a BS and Master of Science from UCLA.
“When it’s football season, we are truly a ‘House divided.”.
Together the Nunez’s have four children Kyle, 20; Shelby, 18; Haley, 11; and Emily, 3.
“Kyle is a junior at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado and Shelby is attending a local community college and working.”
“In my position as the Chief of Police I’m meeting with all police employees to get a base-line on the moral and health of the department,” Nuñez said.
Nuñez said he is getting input to see what direction the employees would like to go and to get some of their personal goals and aspirations.
Nuñez said that authentic leadership is a collaborative process and that in order to face some of the fiscal and political challenges, “We need to work together and find solutions and efficiencies in the processes we currently have,” Nuñez said.
Hobbies and outside interests include:
Nuñez said loves being a student and said that he will be a life-long learner; he loves playing soccer, tennis, the guitar, and is passionate about all music.
He follows the Tour de France and was formerly an avid road cyclist.
“My extra activities are whatever our children are involved in.”
Nuñez signs off each of his e-mails with, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
For La Palma Police information, call 714-690-3379. For La Palma City information, call 714-690-3300 or visit www.cityoflapalma.org.