Lt. Bob Mullins is a Griffin who married a Griffin. Together, they raised two Griffins.
By any definition, a local man.
Mullins has been with the department for about 25 years.
He has never worked for another city.
That’s not unusual for Seal Beach officers, according to Mullins. He said a lot of small police agencies are seen as a starting place for officers. In Seal Beach, officers tend to stay.
Mullins said he has seldom seen people leave Seal Beach PD for other opportunities.
“It (Seal Beach) is a very positive magnet,” Mullins said.
“We’re always a draw for personnel,” he said.
Mullins, who is in his late 40s grew up in the Los Alamitos and Seal Beach area.
“I just always felt at home here,” he said.
“I really love working for this city,” Mullins said.
The lieutenant is a third-generation member of law enforcement, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. From his earliest memories, he has always held police work in high regard and admired the service that law enforcement officers give his whole life.
He started working for the department in 1987 and became a sworn police officer in May 1989. He was a patrol officer for about three years, a detective for five and spent about 13 years as a sergeant.
He spent part of those sergeant years serving as the department’s public information officer, which is one of the responsibilities that comes with being Seal Beach PD’s administrative sergeant.
These days, Lt. Mullins works on what has been called the “non-gun” side of the business—he commands the Support Services Division of the Seal Beach Police Department.
“I only have a couple of gun-toting people working under my command and the rest are civilian staff and volunteers,” Mullins said.
He said his division provides support to patrol officers, first responders, investigators’ work needs, supplies, preserving evidence and reports and managing arrestees.
Support services also enhances patrol through the Volunteers in Policing program and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service).
And, recently, Mullins found himself dealing with the coyote issue. Mullins led a coyote awarness panel discussion last November.
“We need more roadrunners,” he said, referring to the Warner Brothers cartoon character that consistently defeats Wile E. Coyote.
Now Orange County agencies contact him for advice on dealing with their coyote problems.
Mullins certainly never expected to become a coyote expert when he became a police officer.
“I don’t recall the word ‘coyote” coming up one time during my police academy days,” Mullins said.
Fortunately, Mullins said coyote incidents are down. Mullins attributed the decrease in coyote activity to people keeping their pets indoors and not putting out food.
But in the spring Seal Beach will see new litters.
Recently, Mullins added another area of expertise to his resume when he received a masters degree in homeland security from American Military University. (His bachelor’s degree was in criminal justice management.)
“It was an interesting challenge going back to the grind of school work later in life,” Mullins said.
He said it seemed easier when he was very young.
As for the subject of Homeland Security, he considered the subject interesting and said that homeland security is “underutilized” in small communities.
Mullins said it is an important issue in Seal Beach, where we have military families, a Navy base and a defense contractor.
Mullins said training and experience all work hand-in-hand with preparedness. And the Emergency Operations Bureau falls under the Support Services Division.
As for Mullins’s family, he has been married nearly 25 years to his high school sweetheart. He has two grown children, a son who is a restaurant manager and a daughter who is a college cheerleader.
An avid sports fan, Mullins ranks his daugher’s cheerleading competitions as his favorite sport—at least while his daugher is in college. She turns 21 this year.
He’s also a fan of the Angels baseball team and the Miami Dolphins—mostly the Angels.
Mullins has also coached youth sports, including girls softball.
Recently, Mullins went with his daughter and wife to a Jonas Brothers concert.
“And I’m not ashamed to say I had a good time,” Mullins said, though not as good a time as his daughter. “I was the oldest person in the audience.”
