UPDATE: Banning Police Have No Chief, Purvis on Voluntary Paid Leave, Two Lieutenants Share Department Command

Update 8:49 p.m. The Banning Police Department currently has no chief, because Leonard Purvis went on voluntary paid leave effective Saturday Oct. 5, and an attorney says Purvis is planning to make a public statement about "the next phase of his law enforcement career" in the near future.

"Leonard Purvis has distinguished himself as chief of police for Banning and previously as deputy chief for many years," said Bradley Gage of Goldberg and Gage in Woodland Hills, who is representing Purvis.

"At this stage the city and he have been discussing the next phase of his law enforcement career," Gage said in a phone interview Monday evening. "As part of that he's on voluntary leave for a week or so.

"At some point in the near future, we will issue a joint press conference with the city," Gage said. "We're waiting for agreed-upon language for the press conference and at that point we'll be able to discuss details further."

Posted 12:39 p.m. The Banning Police Department currently has no chief, because Leonard Purvis went on voluntary paid leave effective Saturday Oct. 5, a city spokesman told Banning-Beaumont Patch on Monday.

Lt. Mike West and Lt. Phil Holder currently share police department command responsibilities, Banning spokesman Bill Manis said in a phone interview.

"Effective Saturday, October 5, 2013, Leonard Purvis is on Voluntary Paid Leave," Manis said earlier Monday in an email to Patch. "There is no Acting Police Chief at this point in time. Command responsibilities for the Banning Police Department currently fall under the two Lieutenants."

Purvis, who filed a $250,000 claim against the city of Banning in July, alleging a "culture of retaliation" against him, could not be reached for comment over the weekend. An attorney representing him could not immediately be reached Monday.

Asked why Purvis is on voluntary paid leave, and whether the $250,000 claim Purvis filed against the city had anything to do with Purvis' current status, Manis said, "We don't have any further statements on the status of Leonard Purvis at this point."

The circumstances of the claim asserted relate to alleged misconduct violations by Banning council member Don Peterson that occurred in December 2012 and March 2013, Manis said in a press release in July.

Peterson told Patch in July he was wrongly accused because he was making inquiries about police department expenditures.

The claim was turned over to the Employment Risk Management Authority, a Joint Powers Authority program providing coverage for employment practices liability to the city of Banning, according to Manis.

The claim was to be investigated and managed by an attorney appointed by the Employment Risk Management Authority.

"Because this is a labor matter with an active investigation and potential litigation, the City of Banning will not be commenting on the Claim," Manis said in July.