Eric R. Nuñez, the Police Chief in the city of Los Alamitos, and the immediate past president of the California Police Chiefs Association, has announced his retirement effective June 4.
The announcement came at a meeting of the Los Alamitos City Council last week. Nuñez, who recently returned to the office after a bout with COVID-19, said the experience had “refocused” his priorities.
Nuñez has served as Police Chief since 2016 after serving for 25 years at the La Palma Police Department.
“It’s kind of difficult,” Nuñez told the Council at its April 19 meeting. “I sent out an email, it was a save the date kind of thing more than an official resignation,” he said.
Yet, Chief Nuñez said the email informed the city and his department that June 4 would be his last day on the job, having made the decision to retire.
“Throughout the five years I’ve been here, I’ve grown and learned a lot,” said Nuñez, noting that some his “best years” in law enforcement had been spent in Los Alamitos. said Nuñez as he thanked the council for the opportunity to serve in the position.
“It feels strange,” he said, “because I’ve never quit anything.” But, said the police chief, Los Al city manager Chet Simmons had reminded him that he was “not quitting, simply retiring.”
Nuñez said will that on May 30, he will have 30 given thirty years of service to law enforcement. Given the circumstances, therefore the Los Al Police Chief thought it was a perfect time to retire.
“Thank you for your service to the city,” said Mayor Mark Chirco, “and congratulations on your well-deserved retirement.”
“Chief Nuñez has served and represented the City of Los Alamitos well,” the mayor said. “We appreciate his many years of dedicated service to the city, community, and police department and we will certainly miss him. We wish him a wonderful and well-deserved retirement after 30 successful years in law enforcement.
Nuñez said he would stay around to help the city “find the right leadership” in law enforcement before he “physically separates” from the city.
Nuñez served as the 55th President of the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA 2020-2021) representing 332 police chiefs and their respective agencies as a leader in California law enforcement.
According to the association, Nuñez was “a skilled and staunch public safety legislative advocate focused on improving community and officer safety, securing funding for local mandates.”
In addition, Nuñez worked to provide effective officer training, develop best practices for police executives and managers, and to increase community trust by practicing fair and impartial policing with increased levels of transparency and ensuring accountability.”
Nuñez also serves on the Board of Directors for California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA) and serves on the Finance, Legislative and Political Action Committees for CPCA. Chief Nuñez has also served as the President of the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs Association (OCCPSA).
Nuñez has been active in local law enforcement, serving as the Chair on the Integrated Law and Justice Agency of Orange County (ILJAOC), Vice-Chair of the Orange County Remote Access Network (OCRAN) Board, a 10-year member of the International Association of Chiefs of Po (IACP) and he shas been a California Peace Officer Association (CPOA) member for 20 years.