ALBANY — Larry Murdo, who rose through the ranks of the Albany Police Department to become a popular hometown figure as its chief for 16 years, died April 3 in Mobile, Alabama, at age 73.
Murdo, born in 1948, had lived in Albany his entire life until he retired in 2002 as the city’s last elected police chief. In that role he maintained a link to the city’s small-town character while working to modernize and raise the profile of its police force.
“He was very innovative with the department,” said Rene Murdo, his wife, noting that he created new policies and updated equipment and facilities.
“What I remember most was his high energy. He kept our police department moving forward in a positive direction,” said current Police Chief John Geissberger, whom the Albany department hired under Murdo’s command. “He modernized our police department. He installed new light bars on patrol cars, he started the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, the Albany Police Athletic League and established the school resource officer.”
In the mid-1990s “We got our first computer dispatch system and records management system under him,” Geissberger said. Department records had previously been kept on index cards, a practice dating from at least the 1930s.
Murdo also hired the department’s first female officer in 1987, Rene Murdo said, adding “Actually, that was me.”
Facilities at the police station were renovated, including the women’s locker room. Larry Murdo and Rene Boyes married in 1994 while she was on medical leave from the department. Perhaps best remembered during Murdo’s tenure was Elvis & the Lawman, a musical act started in 1993 as a traffic safety program funded by a state grant that toured and performed songs with a message about using seatbelts and staying sober while driving.
The group, made up of Albany police sergeants Bill Palmini (as an Elvis Presley impersonator) and Art Clemons (on guitar), toured for several years at school assemblies and community events around the state and Murdo would occasionally take the stage with them playing bass. The program, which raised the profile of the department, also raised the profile of Murdo, who had a dual role as a city administrator and an elected official.
Albany at the time was one of only two California cities, along with Santa Clara, to have a police chief elected by the public rather than appointed by elected officials. Murdo, then with 13 years on the force, had run successfully for the post in 1986, replacing retired Chief James Simmons.
“He was a politician, but unlike a lot of people in politics, if he made a promise to somebody he backed up what he told people. He was a very ethical man,” Rene Murdo said.
She recalled that her late husband would often walk around the community in full uniform, greeting and talking to people.
“He was extremely personable. The people of Albany were important to him,” Rene Murdo said.
“He pretty much had an open-door policy where people could come and talk to him. He watched Albany change over the years, and he worked really hard to always make those changes positive.”
Geissberger said that Murdo “was very proud of the organization and enjoyed being the face of the department.”
Murdo earned a master’s degree in public administration and communications at the University of San Francisco and later wrote a book on internal affairs investigations, one of the first of its kind on the subject. He taught classes at Napa State College’s police academy and steered promising graduates to the Albany department.
“Larry was an extremely dedicated and hard-working man of integrity and ethics his whole life,” Rene Murdo said. “He was very diplomatic about things, but he didn’t hesitate to deal with the tough issues.”
Murdo said he was prepared to run for another term as chief in 2002, but Albany voters that year approved a measure making the position appointed instead of elected. Murdo instead retired, and he and Rene moved to Paradise, California, where they made their home until 2018, when they lost most of their belongings in the Camp Fire.
“We were blessed to be able to get out with our animals. We were blessed to get out alive,” Rene Murdo said.
The couple moved to Rene Murdo’s Alabama hometown of Mobile, but Larry Murdo still kept his own hometown in his heart.
“He watched Albany change over the years, and he worked really hard to always make those changes positive,” Rene Murdo said. “That’s who he was.”
Chris Treadway is a former reporter, columnist and editor for the Bay Area News Group specializing in community news and local history.