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Crime & Safety

Policing 'Ingrained' in Retired Sergeant

Max Chance, 53, retired as a patrol sergeant in San Juan Capistrano after spending years in special investigation and drug units within the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

In reflecting on his 30-year career with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Max Chance recalls the highlights: providing security for former president George Bush and narcotics investigations along the Mexican border.

It may be the latter that forced him into retirement, but Chance, 53, said he was able to realize a boyhood dream and "have a positive impact on my community."

"That's what I had known my dad to do my whole life," he said of working in law enforcement. "I had a great career and I worked hard at it. It was so ingrained in me that this is what I want to do."

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He retired at the rank of sergeant this summer, choosing to battle a rare form of cancer at home with his family. The San Juan Capistrano City Council honored him last month for having spent seven years of his career here.

"I came back more well rounded with the ability to supervise better," he said his time spent doing investigative work.

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It was partly for his mentorship of peers and deputies as a patrol supervisor that Chance was recently recognized by city officials.

Lt. John Meyer, the chief of police services in San Juan Capistrano, said Chance's "vast amount of experience coupled with his mature and calm approach to any situation proved to be invaluable in resolving conflicts."

Chance grew up in Whittier. His dad was a policeman there in Los Angeles county. He said he knew he'd end up following in his father's footsteps, but didn't want to be in Los Angeles when he did. When he was a teenager, his family moved to South Orange County.

He began his career in May of 1981 as a deputy in the Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana. He transferred to patrol in 1984 and was assigned to San Juan Capistrano in 1985, participating in special events such as the Swallows’ Day Parade.

In 1989, he transferred to the department's Career Criminal Apprehension Team, then to drug investigation and suppression details where he helped seize millions of dollars, numerous guns and "literally tons of drugs."

It was also during that time that followed then-president Bush's limo in a presidential motorcade for a presidential address in Santa Ana.

"It was cool to be in a presidential motorcade and also extra man power for the president," Chance recalled.

The next year, he worked at the Mexican border scouting drugs. In May 1990, he replaced a team whose helicopter crashed during a chase, hitting power lines and killing everyone on board.

Chance compared law enforcement in investigations and patrol, "it was just a different vibe completely down there then how we do things."

Chance came back to San Juan Capistrano in 2009 as a patrol supervisor with new talents to offer, but it wasn't long before he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He retired nearly three years later in July.

"Quite frankly, if I was laying in my death bed would I want to have one more day at work or with my family?"

He speculates the disease may have been caused by the chemicals he handled in the 1990s, when he would enter drug labs without wearing a hazmat suit.

"It's that light at the end of the tunnel that matters and it pays off.  You work hard and you sacrifice some but it pays off," he said.  

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