Campbell Calls Firing Part of a Conspiracy : Law enforcement: The former Newport Beach police chief says sexual harassment complaints were used to fulfill the new city manager’s ambitions.

NEWPORT BEACH —  Fired Police Chief Arb Campbell on Wednesday called his termination the result of a City Hall conspiracy in which unfounded sexual harassment complaints were used as an excuse to gut the Police Department’s high command and fulfill the new city manager’s ambitions.

“I don’t mean for this to sound like a wisecrack, but the inmates are now running the asylum,” Campbell said a day after his ouster by Newport Beach City Manager Kevin J. Murphy.

In his first public appearance since September, when he became embroiled in a sexual harassment lawsuit, Campbell vowed to aggressively pursue efforts to clear his name and called for a special “blue ribbon commission” to thoroughly investigate the department.

The former chief already has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of improperly relieving him of command and conducting an internal investigation of sexual harassment that amounted to a “witch hunt.”

Murphy, who became city manager about nine months ago, dismissed as “ridiculous” and “without foundation” Campbell’s assertion that there was a conspiracy to get rid of him. He said Wednesday that the city’s internal investigation, which led to Campbell’s undoing, was prompted by legitimate concerns about sexual harassment.

Campbell appeared at the Santa Ana offices of attorney Bruce D. Praet, who is defending him and Capt. Anthony J. Villa Jr. against the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by 10 current and former female employees of the department.

The city began taking steps Friday to terminate Villa, who was singled out by most of the women plaintiffs as the chief culprit, while Campbell was accused of condoning Villa’s sexually offensive behavior.

Also present at the news conference was Jeff Epstein, Campbell’s attorney in his lawsuit against the city. Campbell and his counsel spoke for more than an hour to the media on the condition that they would only address his firing, the sexual harassment lawsuit against him, and the effect it has had on the former chief’s family.

“The public needs to hear that Arb Campbell is a human being and to see what he and his family has been through,” Praet said.

Although his doctors have said he is suffering from high blood pressure and severe depression, Campbell, 53, looked tanned and fit in a gray suit as he fielded questions from broadcast and print reporters.

“I think that it’s unfortunate to be terminated after 27 years at the department without any explanation,” he said. “All of a sudden I am not capable of doing my job any more. It’s three days before Christmas, and I am not allowed to return to my office. This is the first time I have been without a paycheck in 27 years.”

Murphy relieved Campbell without stating a reason Tuesday afternoon, about a week after a preliminary report from the city’s internal investigation indicated there was a sexually hostile work environment at the Police Department.

Under the City Charter, the chief serves as an “at-will” employee, and the city manager has broad power to remove such department heads without stating why.

“We followed the letter of the law for at-will employees,” said Murphy, noting that Campbell still has the right to a hearing to present his side to the city.

But Campbell and his attorneys complained that the city manager had fired him without a stated reason and without proving the sexual harassment and discrimination allegations that have surrounded him and Villa, 47.

Reiterating the claims in his federal lawsuit, Campbell accused some of his immediate subordinates at the department, members of the City Council and the city manager of orchestrating his ouster using complaints about sexual harassment as a way to fulfill the city manager’s political agenda.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “If they had conducted a fair and independent investigation, I would have been cleared, and none of this would have happened.”

Turning to allegations that he and Villa raped dispatcher Peri Ropke at a drunken party 11 years ago, Campbell said the claim is upsetting and untrue.

Campbell defended his record, saying all his evaluations have been outstanding and that there have been no complaints about him from the community. He said he could effectively run the department if he were reinstated, despite an overwhelming no-confidence vote against him by rank-and-file officers in October.