February 21, 2012 > Obituary: Former Newark Chief Ray Samuels dies Obituary: Former Newark Chief Ray Samuels dies Former Newark Police Chief Ray Samuels died Friday, February 17 of a massive heart attack. Following an extensive career in law enforcement beginning in 1975 as a police officer with the City of Vallejo, Samuels was hired by the Concord Police Department in 1981. In March, 1999, he joined the Newark Police Department and became Chief in 2003. He had also served as Interim Police Chief at City of Menlo Park in 2010 and City of Lodi in 2011. An outspoken critic of the death penalty, Samuels has written that law enforcement support of this form of punishment is erroneous, weakens resources available for other enforcement priorities and allows too much room for error. Samuels held a Bachelor of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Golden Gate University, Master of Arts degree in Education from San Diego State University and was a graduate of the California Law Enforcement Command College, the Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston, Massachusetts and the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Among his many activities throughout his life, he served with the California Peace Officers Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police and as dedicated Rotarian in the role of Newark Rotary Club president (2002-2003) and Assistant District Governor (2003-2005) Following retirement from the City of Newark, Samuels worked as a licensed private investigator and public safety consultant with the public law group, Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP located in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles.