CHIEF OFFERS APOLOGY FOR MENORAH ORDER.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

SAN FERNANDO - Under pressure from city officials, the chief of police formally apologized this week for ordering a police clerk to remove a menorah during the height of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.

Mayor Maribel de la Torre, who said the clerk was allowed to put the menorah back on display near her desk, welcomed the gesture by Police Chief Anthony Alba.

``He did the right thing,'' she said. ``When it comes to religious symbols, we have to be inclusive.''

Last week, the city and union officials called Alba's order discriminatory and asked him to apologize to the unidentified clerk, who has worked for the city for almost three decades.

The clerk displayed the religious symbol every year, but Alba asked her to remove it when a resident complained the menorah violated constitutional guarantees of separation of church and state. Alba said he was worried the display could lead to a lawsuit.

On Monday, Alba apologized to the clerk who promptly returned it to her office wall. Alba was on vacation Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

``I am just sorry it happened in the first place and that it caused a staff mate hurt at the height of the (holiday) season,'' said Jose Pulido, city administrator.

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com