Former police chief candidate is fired from department

An officer who had applied for the position of Westmorland Police Chief is fired.

Westmorland Police confirm an officer was fired early this month.

Officer Maximilian Barabino was one of several candidates who applied for the position of Westmorland Police Chief recently.

He was given a promotion by the former police commissioner. He showed his support for new Police Chief Perry Monita at the installation.

At that time, Barabino had said, “This new leadership is the beginning of our new structure and we’re going to show southern California that Westmorland, we’re an army of one. We’re small but we’re big in heart.”

Barabino’s promotion was taken away later by the police chief and city council who said his promotion was given without authority.

Barabino submitted a resume with numerous certificates for the Police Chief position.

Chief Monita said he cannot comment on the firing. He did say they are hiring officers at the moment.

“We’re at the four man, and we’re a five man police department. So, we’ll be in the process of hiring another one, hopefully, shortly. That’s what we’re gearing towards,” Monita said.

We reached out to Barabino, but he was not available for comment.