Jenna Bordelon
BURBANK -- A longtime Burbank police captain and former San Gabriel
police chief has died.
Don S. Tutich, 69, died Oct. 16. He worked in law enforcement for 31
years.
The cause of death was not immediately available.
Tutich, who devoted himself to community activism during his years in
Burbank, was perhaps better known for his controversial role as the
police chief in San Gabriel.
He retired in 1989 after 30 San Gabriel police officers cast a vote of
no confidence in his leadership skills. He was accused of refusing to
hire Asian-American officers as well as declining to apply for federal
and state block grants to help modernize his department.
By all accounts, Tutich had a very different career during his 18
years in Burbank.
"He was a real principled person," former Capt. Bill Smith said. "He
came up through the ranks rather rapidly because he had a college degree
and was good at taking tests."
Tutich began his career in 1958 and was a liberal-minded officer in a
department known for its conservatism, Smith said.
"They weren't always mainstream beliefs, so I could see where he could
have gotten into some problems later," he said.
"I was surprised by his problems there, but they're rather a militant
bunch," Asst. Burbank Police Chief Robert Heins said of the San Gabriel
Police Department. "I'm sure he ran afoul of some people who were used to
running roughshod."
Calls to the San Gabriel Police Department for comments on Tutich's
death were not returned.
Tutich was absolved of all charges, but retired a year after the
debacle.
During his years in Burbank, Tutich received a service award for his
work with Bridge -- A Way Across, an organization for troubled children.
He and his wife, Laura, also received the award for "Outstanding Couple
of the Year" from the Women's Council of Burbank in 1971.
Neither the Burbank Police Department nor the San Gabriel Police
Department was notified of Tutich's death, Heins said.
"That would have been the kind of thing Don would have wanted," he
said. "He would have said: 'If I die tonight, bury me in the morning."'
"I would have liked to go to his funeral because we worked together
for 15 years or more," Smith said. "Nobody went because we weren't
aware."
Tutich is survived by his wife, Jeanne, and brother Richard.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Francis High School in care
of Father Matthew Elshoff, 200 Foothill Blvd., La Canada Flintridge, CA
91011.
