True Crime Blog
Three Basic Rules to Successful Policing 1) Don’t Go Hungry Far too often though, we would. Not by choice, but by activity. In my day (at least), we worked eight-hour days on patrol. There was no lunch break. You ate when you could. When and if it quieted enough to do so, you scarfed a…
Dickie Floyd here, Live from Vegas! This week I am attending a gathering of the California Homicide Investigators Association in Las Vegas, Nevada. These conferences are a lot of fun, but this time, I’m all business (not entirely true). Work creates thirst, but thankfully, I am here in the hospitality suite, signing and selling books.…
This Blog has Gone to the Dogs. In 1997 when I promoted to Homicide, I was introduced to a tool of investigation that was new to me: scent canines. Droopy-eared hounds, low and stable, good for cornering if they were ever to build up speed. Which they don’t. They are slow and steady, designed for…
On a warm L.A. morning, the first day of October 1987, Johnny Babbitt and I were working as radio car partners assigned to Firestone Station. Neither of us could have been any happier.
As far as a homicide investigation goes, nothing is better than a callout when the suspect is already in custody. We call it a walkthrough. Homicide investigations are never simple, though some require less follow-up than others. With a suspect in custody, your case is “solved” before you’ve laced your wingtips. All that remains is the…
In Marina del Rey There were worse places to process a crime scene than two miles offshore in Marina del Rey, California. But how, exactly, would one go about such a task, and what circumstances would call for such an investigation? Perhaps a case of suicide. Or murder. Those were the questions I asked a…
A robust Hispanic man stood unapologetically shirtless beneath the morning sun in East Los Angeles. My partner and I suffered in dress shirts and ties while we questioned him about a Mustang, a set of wheels, and a relative of his who we believed to be a suspect in our murder investigation. It was August…
Slowly we patrolled the streets and alleys, our cruiser blacked out on a moonless night like a darkened gunship drifting through the mist. It was two hours past closing and two more before dawn, the time of night when cops and robbers alike prowled the City of Angels while her citizens peacefully slept. Suddenly,…
If you’re just dying to kill someone but find the prospect of prison tiresome, perhaps this handy little murderer’s manifesto is perfect for you! Have No Motive Do not kill out of anger, greed, or revenge, to cover another crime, or for sexual gratification. Do it just for the pure pleasure of doing so,…
Cop Holidays For cops, a holiday shift can run the gamut from excitement to danger to boredom to emotional drain. When I was a patrol deputy, I generally worked all of the holidays. Being single at the time, I would volunteer so that those with families could have the time off. Like many cops, I loved…