Altadena Sheriff's Department Captain to Retire

Capt. Steve McLean the top official at the Altadena Sheriff's Station bid a tearful farewell to Altadena Tuesday night when he announced his retirement from the Sheriff's Department.

McLean has been the top cop in Altadena since early 2010 and during his tenure property crime in Altadena dropped massively after a big surge in the first six months of 2010.

His decision to retire was partly due to his desire to spend more time with his wife and two daughters, but was also practical, he said.  Department officials have told officers that there could be future changes to department pensions that make now a good time to retire.

In fact, McLean said, by retiring he will actually make more money annually than continuing in his job.

But, he said, that did not make it an easy decision.  Through tears, McLean said Tuesday night while he always thinks of his family first, ending his career as a police officer would be very difficult for him.

"Being a cop is not just what I do, it’s who I am," McLean said.

McLean grew up in Southern California, and struggled with school, drinking, and getting in trouble with the police (he shared some of the stories of his life in this Patch interview).

He eventually began to focus on education after his law enforcement career was well underway, and earned a master's in Criminal Justice at age 51.

McLean said Tuesday he considers his tenure in Altadena a success. Department crime statistics show that 2011 was a big improvement over 2010: in total, violent crime dropped by 17.4 percent compared with 2010, and property crime dropped by 25.3 percent.

During his time in Altadena, McLean also faced various criticisms over deputy behavior and community relationship with the department.

He addressed some of those issues on Tuesday:

"Even if you disagree with some of the decisions I made- and make no mistake about it Altadena is good at calling things to my attention- I just hope you know this captain does not have a malicious bone in his body," McLean said. 

McLean received a standing ovation from an unusally-crowded Town Council meeting (attendance was high due to discussions about the Palm Street School proposal).

His second-in-command, Lt. Roosevelt Johnson, then did McLean's normal briefing to the Town Council, but also took a moment to praise his boss's dedication to the job.

"There was never a time when someone asked him to attend a function when he didn’t do it," Johnson said.

McLean that his decision to retire was made in the last week after hearing about the pension issue, and as a result, there are not yet plans for who will replace him as the top department official at the station.