Original Article Glendale police chief on leave, investigated Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor and Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Mar. 22, 2005 12:00 AM After less than five months as Glendale's top cop, Police Chief Andrew Kirkland was placed on paid administrative leave Monday as he faced an internal investigation. City officials would not describe the focus of the probe. "The city will not comment further on a pending personnel matter," said Julie Frisoni, a Glendale spokeswoman. Kirkland also declined to comment on the nature of the investigation. "The only thing I can say is that . . . there are two sides to things," he said. "And at some point, I'm sure that I will get to share my thoughts." He added, "The only person that will know whether or not I'll be able to weather the storm . . . is the city manager." When City Manager Ed Beasley hired Kirkland, now 43, as assistant chief in June 2003, it was clear Kirkland was being groomed to replace then-Police Chief Randy Henderlite, who had announced his retirement. And that's what happened when Henderlite left his post a year later. Kirkland was sworn in as chief last October with a $130,000 annual salary. "I have no inside information, but something obviously happened," Councilman Phil Lieberman said Monday. "I don't even know anything was going on. I thought he was doing a pretty good job." Kirkland took the job in Glendale after a 17-year police career with the Portland, Ore., Police Bureau, including a stint as assistant chief. Kirkland's name surfaced during internal investigations at least two times in his Portland career, according to published reports. One was an internal-affairs investigation in 1994 for allegedly making repeat visits to a girlfriend during work hours. The other, a rape allegation leveled by a prostitute, dates to 1988. That accusation was rejected by a grand jury. When questioned last year by The Arizona Republic about those allegations, Kirkland said his employment record in Portland was absolutely clean and that the accusations there had been proven to be false. He said he was thoroughly investigated by Glendale before he was offered a job and that he passed polygraph tests. Glendale police Capt. Preston Becker and Brent Ackzen, acting assistant director for the Police Department, will oversee police operations "until this matter is fully addressed," Frisoni said. Reach the reporter at monica .dunsmoor@arizonarepublic.com.