New Chief to Lead Seal Beach Police Department

Seal Beach has a new Police Chief.

On Friday, former Long Beach Police Chief Robert M. Luman will take the helm of the department as interim chief while the city searches for a permanent successor to Chief Jeff Kirkpatrick, who retired this month.

The City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a contract to pay Luman $4,000 per week for up to $96,000 plus a cell phone allowance.

“Thank you very much for having me. It will be an honor to serve your police department,” Luman told the council.

“I will work hard for you,” Luman told a City Hall crowd of residents, city officials and police officers. He further pledged, “I will do everything in my power to leave your police department better than I found it.”

Luman’s law enforcement career spans 37 years. He began as a police officer in Long Beach and worked his way up to chief in 1996. He served as chief for three years before serving as interim chief in Riverside and serving four years as chief in Redondo Beach. Most recently, he served as interim chief in Newport Beach for the last year.