True Crime Blog
Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America As they walked him out of the building, Devin was back to whining. He wanted something—a soda. Skaggs turned, and for an instant, the calm, imperturbable patina he had maintained for two decades of working homicides slipped. Farell caught his look, surprised; he had never known Skaggs…
I just finished reading New York Times Bestseller Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, by former Los Angeles Times reporter Jill Leovy. It is the story of homicide in South Los Angeles, more specifically the seemingly endless epidemic of blacks murdering blacks. It is provocative, brutally honest, a story I believe should be…
LAPD Officer Gunned Down at a Taco Stand First and foremost, let me offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Officer Juan Jose Diaz, and to all of my brothers and sisters in blue. LAPD Officer Diaz was killed over the weekend in northeastern Los Angeles.
On June 13, 2017, Alexandria, Virginia police officer Nicole Battaglia’s shift had begun as routinely as all her previous shifts with one significant exception: she had completed her first year on the streets and was no longer a probationer. There was nothing spectacular or even memorable about her day. She had slept, she worked out…
I am writing this having just finished watching the press conference by the Idaho Falls Police Department announcing the arrest of Brian Leigh Dripps for the 1996 murder of Angie Dodge. Congratulations to them; it’s about time this case was solved. That may sound mean-spirited, but it’s not; it’s outrage.
Mike Griffin was my first patrol training officer at Firestone Station. In the first three months, he and I would handle half a dozen murders and assist on many others. The first happened in broad daylight on a populated sidewalk of Florence Avenue in South Los Angeles. The call came out as a 245 (assault…
The late eighties and early nineties saw the height of the crack cocaine epidemic. South Los Angeles, the epicenter of it all, experienced a colossal rise in violent crime. Gang members controlled the street level sales, and they were willing to kill for their piece of the pie.
The night before I wrote this blog, my editor sent a text telling me she was watching the movie Colors. When I told her it was filmed (in large part) where I had worked patrol, during the time I was there, she said she couldn’t imagine what it was like to work there. Then she…
Profiling is an effective tool for detecting and preventing crime and apprehending criminals. Courts and the officers thereof have succumbed to (if not created and propagated) this notion that those who are entrusted—rather burdened—to protect society from the predators among us, are expected to act as if they have neither a brain nor a day’s experience.
Texans Mourn the Loss of an Officer From CBS7 News: Midland Mayor Jerry Morales has identified the officer as 5-year veteran Nathan Hayden Heidelberg. An internal email obtained by multiple media sources reports that Heidelberg, his probationary police officer, plus two additional officers responded to a burglar alarm at a Midland home on Tuesday morning.