Police Chief Mark Wright Retires, Baray Takes Over

It was 1980 and Mark Wright was starting his first day as a sworn peace officer for the Hermosa Beach Police Department. It was 3 a.m. and he was standing in for someone who had called in sick, so he was riding along with another police officer.

"Suddenly, without warning, I caught a glimpse of someone crawling out of the window wearing gloves and a mask," Murrieta Police Chief Mark Wright told City officials, fellow police and family members who were gathered for the passing of the badge ceremony.

Wright said he ran and ran after the man, finally catching up with him and pummeling him to the ground on someone's front lawn.

"It turns out the guy had just raped a 14-year-old girl. Later they tied him to 24 rapes in two years," Wright said. He went on to receive a medal of valor for the arrest.

"My personal favorite thing is taking bad guys off the streets," he said.

It was impeccable timing like that that his co-workers said followed Wright throughout his 31-year career in law enforcement, the last eight of which he spent as chief of the Murrieta Police Department.

"Thank God today doesn't require a foot pursuit," Wright said, getting a chuckle from the audience.

Wright fought back tears as he took his badge off, which was passed to Interim Chief Mike Baray.

Before he did so, City Manager Rick Dudley commended Wright on his performance as chief.

"We've seen the biggest recession since the 1930s, when you would expect crime to go up; ours has actually gone down," Dudley said, adding that he had every confidence that Baray would continue that record.

"I couldn't imagine a better mentor then Chief Wright," Baray said. "I feel our department is blessed and will continue to be blessed."

Baray began with the Police Department when it was founded in 1992. He was the department's first detective, moving up the ranks to captain.

Murrieta's first police chief, Larry Dean, was on hand for the ceremony. Still a Murrieta resident, he has watched the population grow from 25,000 to more than 100,000.

"This is a proud day for me because the three I hired are now running the department," Dean said. "The safety of Murrieta is in good hands."

Lt. Sean Hadden was promoted to Captain, also an original member of the force. He will take Baray's place among two captains.

Murrieta Police Lt. Tony Conrad said it is rare for a chief to be promoted from within, and that if Baray continues on as chief, it would make department history.

Baray, 49, married and the father of five, has been a Temecula Valley resident since 1988. He could become the fifth permanent chief of the department once a transitional period is over, with a interim salary of $162,996.

"I've known this department since day one. My goal is to keep us going in the right direction," Baray said.

Murrieta was named the second safest City in the nation for 2009, and was the eighth safest in 2010, . The rankings are not yet out for this year, but officials are optimistic the City will see a similar rank.

"The City Manager and Council are very satisfied with the Police Department and are supportive of the next police chief being from within the organization," Baray said. "The City Manager completed a selection process and I was chosen as the interim police chief. The interim status is a transitional period to see if the selection is the right fit. The period acutally provides me protection by allowing me to return to a captain position, if for some reason this selection does not work out."

As for Wright, after he handed his chief's badge to Baray with his family looking on, he said "it was just sinking in."

Wright, 54, took an from the City--two months salary.

"I'm going to take the summer off and travel with my family."