A great “from inside the squad car” view of what it feels like to be in a pursuit in Los Angeles. Unfortunately embedding has been disabled for this video clip from “End of Watch.” No worries, just click on the link below, and you’re good to go.
Category Archives: Cop Stories
The LAPD’s “Freeway Flyer”

The LAPD’s ‘Freeway Flyer’ program, cars specially equipped for freeway use, was disbanded when the Highway Patrol took over the freeways through L.A. in 1969. The cars’ lights were made by S&M Lamp Co. LA (Model 757) until 1964, first used in 1951 & standard by 1953, when S&M Lamp Co. went out of business. In ’64, Trio-Sales Co. started making them for LAPD (renamed Model T-2). The lights were red/red until ’64, when rear ambers were introduced. Each T-2 had a separate flasher installed by MTD so that a ‘shop’ would not go out-of-service for a BO amber. Last cars to have the T-2 lights installed were the ’78 Plymouth Fury models.
Most sirens were the familiar Federal C5GB, B&M S8B-S, or B&M Super Chief. 2. In those days all units were dispatched using an AM signal-1730 Mhz, just off the end of the AM broadcast dial. A good home console radio could be tuned to it. There would be a 39″ stick antenna just out of frame on the left-rear quarter panel for the receiver. Units transmitted with an FM signal in the 155 Mhz range. Because of this there were no tac (tactical) channels for patrol units and every car in the city heard the same dispatch broadcasts. Obviously, this changed very quickly after the Watts riots. The FM transmit antenna was typically a Motorola TU-316, the same one used in the Belvedere days of Adam-12.
The Ranch House
By Jim Weaver
[West Los Angeles Division – “Bel Air, 1980’s”]
It was a cold Saturday night in November, My partner Larry Gardner and I were enjoying a cup of coffee and donuts at “Arnie’s,” located at Santa Monica Boulevard and Bundy Drive. I was listening to “Walk of Life” coming from the vehicle parked next to us. The blonde driver was flirting with Larry; business as usual for him.
“Eight-Adam-three, thirteen, and twenty-one meet Eight-L-Twenty at Sunset and Bel Air Road, Code two.”
“Larry, listen up, we just got a call.”
We knew it must be serious as two other units were dispatched to Twenty’s location besides us. Without saying a word we emptied our coffees on the pavement.
Kicking over the V8, I accelerated out of the parking lot and sped to the meeting place. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot next to 8-L-20 Sergeant Jesse Escobar.
Escobar climbed out of his Black and White, as usual his hair was perfectly styled, his uniform looked like it’d just been pressed, his two-toned badge gleamed, and his black shoes shone like glass, even under the dim overhead light. I’d known Escobar for several years; he was known as a policeman’s sergeant. We were lucky to have him. as the three-striper was going up the LAPD ladder.
Shortly, we were joined by the two other assigned units.
“Guys we have a real situation. so pay attention.” The sergeant laid out a hand-drawn map of a residence located at 2 Benedict Canyon Drive.
“We recently received information that a possible shooting occurred at that location, we’ve got nothing more. So let’s get over there and have a look. We’ll park farther down the street and move in on foot. Turn your radios and headlights off before we get there. Any questions?”
As we followed Sergeant Escobar’s black-and-white station wagon, we were silent, lost in our own thoughts. I wondered what we would run into. I had a real uneasy feeling about this one.
When we parked in tandem and were on foot, Escobar once again pulled out the map. Using his flashlight, he ordered the others to the four corners of the house.
Why did he leave me out?
Escobar then focused on me. “You and I will take the house.”
After the other officers were in position, Escobar said in a low voice, “Let’s do it, Jim.”
We quietly moved to the rear of the house, where a light could be seen. A closer look determined it came from a laundry room hallway.
Sergeant Escobar tried the screen door. Unlocked.
I followed as he crept cautiously down the dimly lit hallway, past the laundry room and toward a room where the light was bright. It was the kitchen.
Escobar peered into the kitchen and then he looked back at me. He held up one finger and then pointed it down.
I knew that meant one down. Escobar stepped into the kitchen. I followed on his heels. I spotted the lifeles,s half-open eyes of a female staring up at me. The dead woman was lying in a huge pool of blood that almost covered the entire tile floor. I could clearly see powder burns on her bare breasts and stomach.
Quickly looking about, I could see blood all over the kitchen walls, ceiling, refrigerator, stove, and cabinets.
I stepped over her and felt my shoe soles picking up a sticky substance. Blood.
I spied Escobar in the living room hand motioning for me to go to the left as he was going to the right.
OK, I signaled back with a head nod.
He disappeared into the darkened next room.
I slowly moved down the partially lit hallway. Almost immediately, I spotted a body lying in the middle of the hallway ahead of me. As I approached I could now see it was another female. One half-open lifeless eye stared into space. A contact wound had blown out her left eye.
I stepped over her body, wondering what the hell was next?
Seeing a lighted room ahead, I crept forward and peeked around the open doorway. I saw a leatherette recliner chair with a human arm hanging over the side facing me.
I eased up to the chair and gave it a swift kick to surprise whoever was seated on it.
The chair swiveled to the left, and a male slumped forward and onto the floor. His clothed body ended up on his knees as if he was praying. A large collection of coagulated blood stained his back. It appeared to be an exit wound from a large caliber firearm.
I was startled when Escobar, in a calm voice said, “The rest of the house is clear. Looks like we will need the detectives for this one,” he continued.
He went outside and released the other two units.
My partner and I secured the scene. Several hours later the detectives arrived and began their investigation.
The coroner’s deputies later drove up. After they scanned the scene, they took the bodies and transported them downtown to the Coroner’s office. They would join other corpses awaiting autopsies.
Released from the scene I turned to Larry. “Hey pard, we still have time for Code Seven before EOW. (End-of-Watch.)”
Parker Center — end of an LA era
After over 60 years of service, on Tuesday, January 15th at 2 PM, the Los Angeles Police Department closed the tinted, large glass doors for the last time to its headquarters in Parker Center, located downtown at 150 North Los Angeles Street.
Originally called the Police Administration Building (PAB), groundbreaking for the Center occurred on December 30, 1952, and construction was completed in 1955. The architect was Welton Becket. The building combined police facilities that had been located throughout the Civic Center area. The location was previously home to the Olympic Hotel.
The PAB was a state of the art facility, and the envy of other police departments across the nation. So great was the demand for public tours that the Department assigned policewomen full-time for the first year to give tours several times a day.
It was later renamed in honor of Chief William H. Parker, who died in office on July 16, 1966 from a heart attack. Chief since 1950, he helped establish the LAPD’s reputation as a world leader in law enforcement.
Soon after his death, the Los Angeles City Council renamed the building “Parker Center.” The building was one of the sites of unrest during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, following a not-guilty verdict for the four police officers involved in the Rodney King matter.
A MEDIA STAR
Probably Parker Center’s greatest early notoriety began with the fifth season in 1955 of the television drama by Jack Webb’s Mark VII Productions, Dragnet, and again in the late 1960’s when the show returned to TV, this time in color.
This was only the start. The PAB appeared in several establishing shots for the Perry Mason TV series between 1958 and 1966. This was followed by the popular NBC drama Hunter that also used the building in its sixth and seventh seasons, as did the TNT series The Closer. Parker Center is also featured as one of the main locations in Police Quest: Open Season, the fourth installment of the Police Quest series, a 1993 PC video game by Sierra Entertainment.
Parker Center is often mentioned in the novels of the Harry Bosch series, written by Michael Connelly.
Featured as a backdrop in countless other movie and television features over the decades, Parker Center was a place where the line between art and real-life truly blurred.
At times art imitated life, and at times life imitated art in the fictional and real life dramas that unfolded at Parker Center. High profile investigations took place there, and it was not unusual for occasional big-name celebrities to be booked into the Parker Center Jail—tagged “the glass house” by arrestees because of its large glass-walled holding tanks—on anything from minor charges up to homicide.
It also was the scene of occasional public protests and raucous police commission meetings. If the PAB’s walls were to talk, how much they would have to say!
NEW HEADQUARTERS
With time, the Parker Center became outdated and was in need of expensive seismic retrofits. After considering a number of downtown sites for a new facility, the city council selected a property directly south of City Hall, Caltrans‘ former Los Angeles headquarters. Ground was broken for the new building in January 2007. It was dedicated on October 24, 2009.
Since 2009, Parker Center continued to house portions of the Department’s Scientific Investigations Division (SID). This division has since been transferred to the nearby C. Erwin Piper Technical Building.
Until recently LAPD’s Robbery – Homicide Division operated from a Parker Center annex.
The heliport at the new facility is marked with an ‘H’. The Parker Center’s heliport was marked with a ‘5’.
The Gamewell
The police call box, or callbox, is a metal box containing a special-purpose direct line telephone or other telecommunications device. Before the introduction of two-way radios, some police agencies installed call boxes at various street locations as a way for beat officers to report to their dispatch office.
In 1852, Dr. William Channing and Moses G. Farmer developed the first practical fire alarm system, utilizing the telegraph system. Two years later, they applied for a patent for their “Electromagnetic Fire Alarm Telegraph for Cities.”
In 1855, John Gamewell of South Carolina, purchased regional rights to market the fire alarm telegraph. He obtained the patents and full rights to the system in 1859.
During the Civil War, the government seized the patents. John F. Kennard subsequently bought the patents and returned them to Gamewell.
In 1867 the two men formed a partnership, Kennard and Co., to manufacture the alarm systems. The Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Co. was established in 1879.
Gamewell call box systems were installed in 250 cities by 1886, growing to 500 cities by 1890. A new factory was opened in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts. By 1910, Gamewell had gained a 95% market share.
Today the company is called Gamewell-FCI (Fire Control Instruments), and is owned by Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions. They develop self-programming, networked, and sophisticated voice evacuation systems.
“Let’s fire it up!”
by PAT CONNELLY
Sgt. II, Pat Connelly retired from the LAPD in 1996. He was elected to the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club (LAPRAAC ) Board of Directors, and presently serves in the retirement position. A member of the Baker to Vegas Race Committee, Connelly was appointed the “Official B to V Team Coach & Coordinator.”
A while back, I went to the Police Academy in Elysian Park to attend a LAPRAAC Board of Directors meeting. I walked past the security office and up the road to the Chief Daryl F. Gates Lounge. Making my way, I passed between the familiar stone walls on each side of the roadway. My walk brought back memories of the first time I did so, over 46 years ago.
Before the Watts Riots in August 1965, I joined the LAPD Reserve Corps. My training commenced on a Saturday morning in the Academy gym. Greeting our class were Officer Les Jenkins and Sergeant George Morrison (the late Morrison retired at the rank of Commander). Both men were spit and polish; standing tall in Class A uniforms, impressing all 30 members of a nervous and unsuspecting recruit reserve class.
The first thing Sgt. Morrison did after mustering the class, was speak about the heritage and history of the Los Angeles Police Academy, and the role that LAPRAAC played in its development.
Starting at the two rock pillars supporting the arcing Police Academy sign, the two men in blue took us on a tour of the grounds. As we walked along, Sgt Morrison pointed out different structures, landscaping, and memorable and historical landmarks. He spoke softly, and the steady tempo of his words radiated his strong sense of pride. It was obvious he was honored to be a member of the LAPD, as well as a member and in his day a noted athlete in LAPRAAC.
Sgt. Morrison explained the rock formations that divide the narrow roadway and then stated, “As you can see,, the walls are made of slabs of concrete, broken chunks of sidewalk brought up here in 1935 by trustees and a cadre of police officers. I will say more on this project later.”
As we walked, he told us the Academy’s history and how it became what it was on that day in 1965 and still is today.
In 1926, Chief James Davis was instrumental in the development and the formalizing of training for officers. The first such training was held in an armory downtown, where officers were instructed in all aspects of criminal justice and street police training. However, no firearms training was provided, except for a makeshift firing range behind the Lincoln Heights station. Today, it is known as Hollenbeck Station.
In 1931, Chief Davis set his sights on obtaining an area in the City of Los Angeles that would provide a formal shooting range for firearms instruction, qualification (including a bonus shoot) and shooting practice. Griffith Park was first suggested, but subsequently disapproved by the Recreation and Parks Commission. An alternative site in Elysian Park, consisting of 21 hillside acres, was then selected and approved; the rugged land was situated above Chavez Ravine.
Chief Davis put out a call throughout the Department for any officers skilled in building, and in electrical and plumbing installation. Sgt. Henry Fricket, assigned Lincoln Heights Station, was the first officer to answer the call. He applied his expertise in carpentry, constructing a 25-yard enclosed pit area, target frames, and firing points. The Department finally had a place to improve one’s shooting skills with the newly approved .45 caliber revolver. Officer Ronald French was the first range master.
In early 1931, eight officers formed a competitive pistol (revolver) team. The “Bulls Eye” shooting specialists were Chief James Davis, and Officers Stanley Stone, Jack Bartley, Joe Dircks, Bud Buchanan, R. J. Ward, J.J. Engbecht, and Mark Wheeler. The team was the first of many championship pistol teams to earn prestige and national fame for the Department and LAPRAAC.
The 25-yard range design and construction was professionally laid out and so complete that it was chosen as the venue for the 1932 Summer Olympic Games pistol competition.
In the fall of 1934, the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club filed and obtained legal status. It then took on the responsibility of maintaining the Academy grounds. Under the supervision of Chief Davis (at the time he was President of the LAPRAAC Board of Directors), Sgt William H. Parker, also a lawyer, was assigned to draw up the necessary documents. Sgt. Parker would later become Chief of Police and rebuild what had been a corrupt entity into a professional police department, respected throughout the world. A bust of Chief Parker, commemorating his contributions during his long and distinguished career, currently stands in an honored spot on the Academy grounds.
Once the legal paperwork was approved, signed and delivered, the “club” started focusing on recreational and athletic outlets for its membership.
Officer Fred Eberhart obtained the services of the Department of Forestry. This action brought pine trees and shrubs to the Academy that stand today. Club members supervised 400 trusties that were put to work constructing the rock garden, landscaping, and building the pair of entry pillars and high walls traversing up the hill alongside the Academy roadway. The walls, made of rock and concrete chunks, had been pedestrian walkways on both sides of Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.
Tons of concrete from the sidewalks torn out for road widening, utilizing a federal worker program (WPA) during the Depression, were transported to Elysian Park. In addition, the Department of Fish and Game donated 200 quail, 18 gray squirrels, and many fish to create a natural habitat within the hillside rock garden and its several waterfalls and shaped pools.
The first building constructed at the Academy had been an Olympic Village mess hall, located in Baldwin Hills during the 1932 Summer Games. It now is called the Chief Daryl F. Gates Lounge. Club members disassembled the building and reassembled it at its present location. After its completion, a large pool and athletic field and track were constructed across the street.
To cover the cost, members of the Department donated 1% of one month’s salary.
The Academy’s first graduating class of forty recruits, numbers 1-36, called their group “Club 40.” A plaque is on display honoring their place in Academy history. A photograph of class members is on the wall in the public café. The first female class graduated ten years later, in 1946.
The indoor gymnasium was constructed in 1935 at a cost of $181,000. Included in the project were a stage, a locker room, handball courts, administrative offices, billiards room, barbershop, beauty salon, steam room, and a massage alcove. A licensed masseur was available.
Officer Bob Burke (retired LAPRAAC Club Athletic Director) revealed a legendary story about a closet in the Academy Commanding Officer’s office. At one time it opened to a wet bar, designed and constructed for the comfort (possibly on and off duty) of Chief James Davis. Burke says if one looks hard, one will see a piece of the old liquor cabinet still in the office.
Only months after the start of WW II, police recruits in training lived on the grounds; they were allowed to go home on the weekends. A barracks type bunkroom was set up in the present day lounge. A small, separate, square-shaped building just inside the wall near the security office, is where meals were served. That area and the barbeque pit are still present. The building used to be the Law Instructor’s Unit; it currently is leased to a commercial real estate business.
A consultant for the residents’ living and training needs was Melvin Furbish, a retired Marine Corps general. General Furbish patterned discipline of the recruits after his beloved Corps. He included the class “A” uniform style worn today by the Department, and still worn by the USMC.
Another Academy landmark is the concrete seating area on the athletic field. The long and tiered seating, three levels high, is located behind home plate, where LAPRAAC’s baseball team plays. Many Department participants were former college and semi-professional baseball players. They played other local pro teams, including the Hollywood Stars and the Los Angeles Angels, as well as university teams from USC and UCLA. The LAPD diamond-field hardball athletes have won their fair share of games.
On March 3, 2013, the Department baseball team will have been playing continuously for 100 years.
A former member of a LAPRAAC post-WWII baseball team was my watch commander at West Valley Division (1967), Lt. Frank Mullins. At the age of 48, he participated on the Department’s long distance running/relay team, sponsored by LAPRAAC. Frank retired out of Robbery-Homicide Division, RHD. He loved to talk about the Club’s all-star team and how proud he was to wear the LAPD logo on his baseball uniform.
Frank’s baseball-playing name was “Moon” Mullins. He got his nickname playing shortstop as a member of the Chicago Cub’s farm team, the Vancouver Canucks. His moniker is not to be confused with 1959 Dodger, Wally Moon. However they did have one thing in common: hitting a home run, a short distance over a high fence.
Moon claimed he mastered his swing with a flick of his wrist, often hitting a very high pop fly over the Academy’s 50-foot-tall right field fence. The arcing balls would either bounce onto the road and roll down to Chavez Ravine, or would splash into the pool. An unlucky class recruit, usually on discipline, had the task of retrieving each ball.
Lieutenant Frank “Moon” Mullins, a Medal of Valor winner, passed away in 2010. He is another part of Academy history.
Sergeant George Morrison ended his Academy history lesson and tour where it started an hour earlier. He closed by stating (I believe with a tear), “Don’t ever take this place for granted. Be respectful of its history and legacy and be thankful for all the Department personnel who funded, sacrificed, and labored to make this place unique in American law enforcement, along with its notable athletic history. Now you can enjoy a place to recreate, increase your physical fitness, and have family and partner privacy. Complementing all we have seen today, you too, can proudly wear a sports competition uniform displaying the logo LAPD/ LAPRAAC.”
Inside the LAPD’s elite airborne unit
(Originally published in the Palisades Post online, January 3, 2013, by staff writer Reza Gostar)
Negotiating traffic on Sunset Boulevard and PCH may be challenging for police officers on the ground, but not for officers piloting the airborne units of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Air Support Division (ASD).
These elite helicopter units have become legendary not only in movies like ‘Blue Thunder’ and ‘Terminator 2,’ but also on the streets where they are often referred to as ‘ghetto birds’ by the criminals they chase.
Somewhere over southeast L.A. on December 20, LAPD Pilot David Swanson is flying a AStar B-2 helicopter to the scene of a potential robbery. The victim’s neighbor has spotted the two suspects, Swanson tells a Palisadian-Post reporter who is along for the ride.
Tactical Flight Officer Renee Muro, a veteran LAPD officer and one of only seven women in the ASD, is listening to several police radios simultaneously as she coordinates the response. In less than four minutes, the helicopter arrives at its destination and, down below, neighbors are peeking out of their homes to see what all the commotion is about.
Swanson keeps the helicopter at 600 to 700 feet in elevation as he circles the perimeter. This is standard practice for LAPD helicopter pilots, who avoid hovering in one place. They keep the aircraft moving because in case of an emergency, such as a malfunction, there needs to be enough wind speed built up for the blades so the pilot can attempt to land. News media helicopters fly 500 feet above the police to avoid interfering with any activity.
On the streets below, the scene is chaotic. Curious neighbors have started to come out of their homes, adding to the number of bodies visible by air. Suddenly, Muro, who is not using binoculars, spots two pairs of sneakers underneath one of the home’s overhangs and quickly coordinates with the officers on the ground. Within minutes, the two suspected robbers are placed in custody.
Not three minutes go by before Muro picks up another call over the radio’this time a gunshot victim. The helicopter is again the first to arrive and quickly directs the first responders to the victim.
‘This is a known gang and drug area,’ Swanson says, adding that it is unlikely that any witnesses will come forward. After he and Muro canvas the perimeter, the calls begin to slow and the helicopter sweeps over congested freeways to Venice, and then to Pacific Palisades.
‘I landed there once when I had engine trouble,’ says Swanson, pointing down to the Field of Dreams at the Palisades Recreation Center. He was one of the units that responded to a burglary call at a home on Alma Real Drive last August. (The Post ran a photo of the downed helicopter.)
Established in 1956 by a group of Korean War veterans, the ASD units are in the air 20 hours a day patrolling L.A.’s 470-plus square miles of steel, chaparral and concrete landscapes. ‘We try to be as proactive as we can,’ said Lt. Phillip Smith, assistant commanding officer.
‘The helicopters get up to 140-150 miles per hour,’ Smith said. ‘If I leave the deck here [at the LAPD Hopper heliport near Union Station] and get a call way out in Chatsworth, it’s probably going to take me seven or eight minutes but that can still seem like forever when you have an officer screaming for help.’
Separated by the Santa Monica Mountains, there are two police helicopters patrolling at any given time. One works the San Fernando Valley and the other handles everything south of the Cahuenga Pass, Smith said, noting that rapid response is the reason why the helicopters remain in constant flight.
‘We are a force multiplier’that’s really what we do,’ Smith said. ‘We do the job of between six and eight police cars out there. ‘
Smith said that ASD helicopters are able to quickly determine if indeed there was a crime and whether or not additional units are needed. ‘Our big thing is getting to the scene and offering some security, and painting a visual picture for the officers responding.’
The Air Support Division, which averages more than 300 police car pursuit calls a year, currently operates 19 helicopters, including 14 Eurocopter Astar B-2s, four Bell Jet Rangers, and one recently acquired Bell Uh-1H (Huey) that is replacing an older one that retired about four years ago. The Huey is used by the division’s special flights section for special operations, which involve such missions as rapelling Special Weapons and Tactics officers onto the tops of buildings and other operational activities, Smith said.
The ASD staff and personnel include 35 police officer pilots, 10 sergeants who are pilots, three lieutenant pilots, 28 tactical flight officers, which totals to about 100 staff members, counting civilian employees and support staff. Some officers serve as both tactical flight officers (TFOs) and pilots, Smith said. However, all of the TFO and pilots have to serve as regular patrol officers for at least five years before being considered for a position in the elite division.
How effective is the ASD? Of the 51,000-plus incidents that the ASD responded to last year, ‘probably 16,000 times we were the first on scene,’ said Smith, who moonlights for the security firm ACS in the Palisades once a week.
Many aspects of the ASD’s missions are classified, such as their special radiological equipment (which can be used to detect terrorist activity), monitoring for environmental dangers, and high-altitude surveillance flights, which involve multimillion-dollar cameras and other equipment.”
The helicopters are also equipped with the famous ‘Nightsun’ spotlight, which is linked to the helicopter’s 360-degree infrared camera system that is mounted underneath the aircraft. During night patrols, the spotlight can be activated to track the camera’s position, which is remotely controlled by the tactical flight officer inside the helicopter.
However, the officers themselves are the most valuable aspect of the arsenal. Accumulating thousands of hours of flight time a year (about 18,000 hours in 2011), the ASD pilots are some of the most experienced aviators in the world. Subsequently, the ASD trains multiple other agencies from around the country, including foreign allied military units in their use of special police tactics, especially the ‘Nightsun’ spotlight. The instruction room is located on the aircraft carrier-size heliport on top of the Piper Technical Center in downtown.
Yet, despite all the technical gadgetry and their elite status as one of the largest and most sophisticated airborne law enforcement forces in the nation, the ASD’s humble motto exemplifies their commitment and attitude to the job: ‘The mission is the same, only the vehicle has changed.’
Thoughts in rhyme and prose by Robert F. McMeekin
- A 2009 photo of LAPD Chief Charlie Beck as he makes his way through rows of officers at the Devonshire Division police station in Northridge in 2009. (Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer, Los Angeles Daily News)
Robert F. McMeekin grew up in Brooklyn, New York and went on to attend Syracuse University and Cal State University, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Cal State. Now a retired Los Angeles Sergeant of Police, Mr. McMeekin is married with three grown children.
THOUGHTS IN RHYME
How proud I am, how proud I be
To be retired from the LAPD
I have fondest memories of the Academy
Most of my classmates still remember me
I learned my craft in a radio car
I thank my partners who took me this far
From a shy wiseass from the streets of Brooklyn
I learned to deal wit crime and sin
The men I worked with thru years of strife
Are now good friends for now and life
There is a terrific bond you do cultivate
From all your partners who shared your fate
For all who read these thoughts in rhyme
I think you’ll agree we had a hell of a thyme
A NICE WAY TO MEET
I woke up this morning and let my dog out the door
That’s when I saw a pretty lady leave apartment four
“Good morning” sez I, “Hello,” sez she
My dog then trotted over and jumped on her knee
“He thinks you brought him a treat”
“I have no treat, but it’s a nice way to meet”
The next morning I let my dog out at the same time
And there she was—so very pretty—it was a crime
As my dog jumped on her knee, she gave him a treat
“You’re gonna spoil him, now he’ll expect a treat whenever you meet”
“That’s okay,” sez she. “I’ll get even when you take me to dinner.”
“That’s fine with me—I can’t lose, so I’, the winner”
One year later she and my dog were friends for life,
Her and me were also friends but more importantly—man and wife
HOW PROUD I WAS
Back in the ’seventies, I was a sergeant of police assigned to Wilshire Division, working the night watch, PMs. One spring night, as a field supervisor, I was cruising along Olympic Boulevard just west of Western Avenue. A radio broadcast came out giving info on a 211 (robbery) that just occurred on Western, not too far away.
The broadcast gave descriptions of two male-black suspects, plus the make of their car and its license number.
As I approached Western Avenue, I turned north, reasoning that it was still early and the suspects would probably head towards Hollywood with their loot.
After about two blocks, I spotted the suspects in their car ahead of me.
I radioed my location with the request for backup, flipped on my overhead red lights and cut the suspects vehicle off at an angle. Using my car as a shield, weapon drawn, I ordered the suspects out of their car one at a time, driver’s side, hands up.
Both suspects complied when they saw me with my shotgun pointing at their heads. At this time, several police units arrived at the scene and took custody of both suspects. Policy dictated that supervisors turn over custody of arrestees to a field unit for arrest booking and reports.
I then continued on my shift as a field supervisor.
At end-of-watch, EOW, I drove to the station, gathered my gear, and headed to the watch commander’s office to go off duty. As I entered the w/c’s office, change of watch was taking place as the morning watch supervisors and w/c relieved the night watch supervisors and w/c.
There were six sergeants, two lieutenants, and several police officers in the office as I entered. Much to my surprise and delight my contemporaries and supervisors soundly applauded me!
I was officially relieved and was the man of the hour. To be truly recognized by my peers and supervisors was the proudest moment of my life.
I never forgot it.
LAPD authors…
I would like to plug my fellow retired LAPD authors, so I am listing their works below:
BOOKS, FICTION & NON-FICTION, BY FORMER LAPD OFFICERS
The Oasis Project by Art Adkins (May 17, 2010) $14.00
Power Grid by Art Adkins (Sept 10, 2010) $14.99 – Kindle $2.99
A Dozen Deadly Roses by Kathy Bennett (Jun 4, 2011) Kindle $2.99
A Deadly Blessing by Kathy Bennett (Apr 8, 2012) Kindle $2.99
Sand Against Time by Paul Bishop (1990) Hardcover (used) $24.95
Chapel of the Ravens by Paul Bishop (Oct 1992) Hardcover $18.25 Paperback $4.87
Croaker: Grave Sins by Paul Bishop (Jun 28, 2011) – $2.99 Kindle
Bluff City Brawler (Fight Card) by Heath Lowrance, Jack Tunney, Mel Odom and Paul Bishop (Sep 1, 2012) – $2.99 Kindle
Felony Fists (Fight Card) by Jack Tunney, Mel Odom and Paul Bishop (Nov 11, 2011) – $0.00 Kindle
Get Hit, Hit Back (Fight Card) by Jack Tunney, John Kenyon, Paul Bishop and Mel Odom (May 26, 2013) – $2.99 Kindle
Hot Pursuit by Paul Bishop (Jun 19, 2011) – $2.99 Kindle
The Other Side of Truth by Paul Kimball and Greg Bishop (Apr 3, 2013) – $9.39 Kindle
The Cutman (Fight Card) by Jack Tunney, Mel Odom and Paul Bishop (Nov 11, 2011) – $0.99 Kindle
Deep Water by Paul Bishop (Jun 19, 2011) – $2.99 Kindle
Penalty Shot by Paul Bishop (Jun 23, 2011) – $2.99 Kindle
Welcome to the Octagon (Fight Card MMA) by Jack Tunney, Gerard Brennan, Paul Bishop and Mel Odom (Apr 17, 2013) – $0.99 Kindle
Fight Card: Against the Ropes by Jack Tunney, Terrence McCauley, Paul Bishop and Mel Odom (Feb 11, 2013) – $2.99 Kindle
The Knockout (Fight Card) by Jack Tunney, Paul Bishop, Mel Odom and Robert J. Randisi (Dec 1, 2012) – $0.99 Kindle
Golden Gate Gloves (Fight Card) by Jack Tunney, Robert Evans, Mel Odom and Paul Bishop (Oct 21, 2012) – $2.99 Kindle
The Centurions’ Shield by Keith and Jake Bushey
Uniform Decisions by John Caprarelli and Lee Mindham (Dec 27, 20110 $11.80 – Kindle $7.99
Criminal Justice Administration by Clyde Cronkhite (Oct 15, 2007) $84.28
Law Enforcement and Justice Administration by Clyde Cronkhite (Jan 15, 2012) $126.95/$58.25pb
Fallen Angels by Connie Dial (Apr 20, 2012) $22.04 – Kindle $9.99
Internal Affairs by Connie Dial (Jun 1, 2009) $21.29 – Kindle $15.40
The Broken Blue Line by Connie Dial (Jun 1, 2010) $21.28 – Kindle $15.40
The Buffalo Rock by Bob Faulkner (Aug 8, 2008) $30.00
The Warrior in Me by David E. Gray (Mar 9, 2010) $19.99 – Kindle $7.69
True to the Blue by David E. Gray
Eclipse of the Blue by David E. Gray (Oct 28, 2012) $29.99 – Kindle $3.99
Images of America – Los Angeles Police Department by Tom Hays and Art Sjoquist (Oct 10, 2005) $19.99
Black Dahlia Avenger by Steve Hodel (Apr 11, 2003) $11.18 – Kindle $0.99
Most Evil by Steve Hodel (Sep 22, 2009) $3.99 – Kindle $7.99
Black Dahlia Avenger II by Steve Hodel (Mar 13, 2012) $19.11 – Kindle $7.99
Thicker’n Thieves by Charles Stoker and Steve Hodel (Mar 13, 2012) $23.00 – Kindle $7.19
Islam and Barack Hussein Obama by Stephen M. Kirby, Ph.D. (Jul 20, 2010) $8.75
Letting Islam Be Islam by Stephen M. Kirby, Ph.D. (Oct 1, 2012) $18.18
Orphan’s Asylum by Mike Krecioch (Feb 20, 2008) $19.99 – Kindle $3.99
“G’d Up” 24/7 – The GHB Addiction Guide by Trinka Porrata (Jun 1, 2007) $34.99
War Stories Lived by a L.A. Cop by Robert E. Reynolds (Aug 1, 2012) $19.95 – Kindle $19.95
Good Cop Dead Cop by Bob Ruchhoft and Phil Smith (Apr 4, 2011) $13.95 – Kindle $4.99
The BCMC – The Big City Motor Cop by Gary Smith (Jul 29, 2009) $19.99 – Kindle $9.99
Hide and Seek – The Warrant Game by Gary Smith (Apr 6, 2011) $19.99 – Kindle $9.99
Casey Teel by Dale Sprinkle (Sep 29, 2011) $28.95/$17.95pb – Kindle $3.99
The First Crime Scene by Frank Tomlinson (Oct 17, 2009) $19.99
No One Escapes by Frank Tomlinson (Nov 24.2011) $18.99
The SWAT Pioneers – A History of the LAPD’s SWAT Program 1965-1972 by Rik Violano (Jan 1, 2006) $30
To Ride a Hurricane by William L. Walker (Mar 3, 2008) $28.80 – Kindle $15.95
To Ride a Hurricane II The Redemption by William L. Walker (Dec 6, 2011) $29.95 – Kindle $29.95
Gene Roddenberry’s “Earth Final Conflict” (Bk. 1) by Gene Roddenberry (Out of Print)Gene Roddenberry’s “Earth Final Conflict” (Bk. 2) by Gene Roddenberry (Out of Print)
THE MAKING OF STAR TREK : The Book on How to Write for TV! by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry (Jul 1, 1970) (Currently unavailable)
Star Trek 5, The Rift, Chain of Attack, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Deep Doma by Peter David, Gene DeWeese, Gene Roddenberry, David Dvorkin, Melinda James Blish (Jan 1, 1972) (Currently unavailable)
The Star Trek Reader I by James Blish and Gene Roddenberry (Sep 1976) Hardcover $30.48
Star Trek: The New Voyages by Sondra Marshak, Myrna Culbreath, Gene Roddenberry and Cast of Star Trek (1976) Paperback $39.99
The Star Trek Reader II by James Blish and Gene Roddenberry (Apr 1977) Hardcover $11.65
The Star Trek Reader III by James Blish and Gene Roddenberry (Aug 1977) Hardcover $12.99
The City on the Edge of Forever (Star Trek Fotonovel, No. 1) by Harlan Ellison and Gene Roddenberry (Nov 1977) Paperback $8.30
Where No Man Has Gone Before (Star Trek Fotonovel, No. 2) by Samuel A. Peeples and Gene Roddenberry (Nov 1977) Paperback $47.99
The Star Trek Reader IV by James Blish and Gene Roddenberry (Mar 1978) Hardcover $20.93
The Devil in the Dark (Star Trek Fotonovel, No. 9) by Gene L Coon and Gene Roddenberry (Jul 1978) Paperback $10.00
Day of the Dove (Star Trek Fotonovel No. 10) by Jerome Bixby and Gene Roddenberry (Aug 1978) Paperback $40.56
All Our Yesterdays (Star Trek Fotonovel #6) by Gene Roddenberry (Sep 29, 1978) Paperback $14.99
Amok Time (Star Trek Fotonovel, No. 12) by Theodore Sturgeon, Gene Roddenberry and DeForest Kelley (Oct 1978) Paperback $39.95
A Piece of the Action (Star Trek Fotonovel #8) by David P Harmon and Gene Roddenberry (Nov 24, 1978) Paperback $10.00
Star Wars The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry (1979) Hardcover (Used) $0.88
Star Trek the Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry (1979) Paperback $13.46
Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry (Jan 1, 1980) Paperback(used) $1.21
The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry and Susan Sackett (Feb 29, 1980) Paperback $81.52
Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry (Mar 28, 1980) Paperback $15.85 Hardcover $84.40
The Making of Star Trek by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry (1986) Paperback $19.99
Envoys of Mankind: A Declaration of First Principles for the Governance of Space Societies by George S. Robinson, Harold M. White and Gene Roddenberry (Nov 1986) Hardcover $17.00 (Collectible)
Star Trek Novel by Roddenberry (Apr 2, 1987) Paperback $15.85 – Hardcover $19.99
Star Trek: the Making of the TV Series by Gene Roddenberry (Sep 12, 1991) Paperback $66.64
GENE RODDENBERRY: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry). Engel, Joel (1994) Hardcover $44.95
GENE RODDENBERRY, THE LAST CONVERSATION by Gene RODDENBERRY (1994) Hardcover $50.00
Errand of Fury by Gene Roddenberry Kevin Ryan (2007) Paperback $4.98
Star Trek, the Next Generation: Before Dishonor by Gene Roddenberry Peter David (2007) Paperback $12.05
Star Trek Vol.1 (Graphic Novel) Gold Key (The Key Collection) by Gene Roddenberry (Jun 30, 2011) Kindle $6.99
Star Trek Vol.2 (The Key Collection) by Gene Roddenberry (Jun 30, 2011) Kindle $4.61
Star Trek Vol.3 (The Gold Key Collection) by Gene Roddenberry (Jul 14, 2011) Kindle $8.99
Star Trek Vol.4 (The Key Collection) by Gene Roddenberry (Jul 14, 2011) Kindle $8.99
Star Trek Vol.5 (The Gold Key Collection) by Gene Roddenberry (Jul 14, 2011) Kindle $8.99
Homeless vendors sell beer on the streets — and dodge police!
Being a cop can be a hugely rewarding profession. Then there are times when it can be a real drag.
A recent court ruling has made it difficult for patrolmen in Los Angeles to crack down on street people selling beer and drugs on the sidewalks. Here’s a fascinating (and well-written) article on the subject by Sam Allen in today’s Los Angeles Times. Enjoy.
Jess Waid 