True Crime Blog
Two LAPD cars drove into our jurisdiction, slowly following a van. Their lights were flashing but the driver of the van seemed oblivious to them. It was the during the late hours of our shift on a slow night in the Florence, Firestone, and Walnut Park Districts of Los Angeles County, districts patrolled by deputies…
Not Unlike the Marine Corps Many law enforcement agencies are structured in a paramilitary fashion in the ways of rank, discipline, and even training. It begins in the academy where stress is introduced as a manner of testing one’s fortitude and ability to withstand the pressures of the job. If you can’t tolerate a drill…
Grape Street is one of infamy in South Los Angeles. The 9500 block sits north of the Jordan Downs housing projects, and both are home to the Grape Street Crips. When I worked at Firestone, it was considered a cherry patch for drug and gun arrests, and it probably still is. It is also in…
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…
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,…
The day I met Muhammad Ali, I was nineteen years old and working for a security company that provided services to the gated community wherein Mr. Ali lived. Our duties included alarm response and patrol, and there was a sentry stationed at the gate, 24/7. It was circa 1982, and Mr. Ali had not…