Lakewood fired Police Chief Patrick Smith on Monday, about two weeks after the City Manager put him on administrative leave pending a review of findings associated with no-confidence votes from the city’s police unions and investigative reports.
The city offered no new details about what those findings or investigations are. Assistant Chief David Claridge, who joined the Police Department in July, has been acting chief since Aug. 14. Sgt. Charles Porche, a police spokesperson, said Claridge would continue in that role.
Contacted by The News Tribune on Tuesday, Smith said he was saddened but defended his performance as chief and said City Manager Doug Russell’s decision was about an organizational culture “rooted in the past and resistant to change; coupled with past systems of cronyism and favoritism.”…