Category Archives: LAPD

Black Dahlia: Not for Young Readers

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Imagine my surprise to find this little gem floating around on the Internet, and I see that I’m a couple of years late. According to Amazon, it’s a 2011 account of the Black Dahlia case for middle school students, although … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, lapd, unsolved murders | 1 Comment

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files (Updated)

Posted on April 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

In 2013, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged lapd, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | 4 Comments

March 2014 Reader Survey

Posted on March 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here are the results as of Saturday. I’m guessing the figures may change a bit, but not too much.

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Mary Mallory, Radio | Tagged 1944, film, hollywood, Louella Parsons, OTR, radio, Walter Winchell | 10 Comments

New LAPD Chief Calls for Openness With News Media

Posted on March 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

July 1, 1949 Former Marine Maj. Gen. William A. Worton becomes Los Angeles police chief. On his way to his office with Mayor Fletcher Bowron, he visits the press room: “I cannot do this job without the press. The public … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, LAPD | Tagged 1949, lapd | Comments Off

LAPD Scrapbook: Police Crime Laboratory Beats Best Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, March 10, 1946

Posted on March 22, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1946 Here’s a feature from the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives on police chemist Ray Pinker and the LAPD crime lab, which in those days was at the old Central Police Station on 1st Street. Bloodstain pattern … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged 1946, bloodstain pattern analysis, crime and courts, crime lab, lapd | Comments Off

LAPD Scrapbook: Los Angeles Crime Down for 1948

Posted on March 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

January-February 1949 Here’s another item from the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives: Los Angeles records a decrease in crime for 1948 compared to 1947, according to figures in the Pacific Coast International Law Enforcement News.

Posted in 1948, 1949, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged 1948, 1949, crime and courts, lapd | Comments Off

LAPD Scrapbook: Gangster Squad Abolished, Los Angeles Herald-Express, Oct. 6, 1949

Posted on March 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 6, 1949 Here’s another item from the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives: The police chief is William A. Worton (are you paying attention, everybody who thinks William Parker was chief in 1949? especially you, Will Beall, writer of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1949, film, hollywood, lapd | 5 Comments

LAPD Mourns First Latina Officer Josephine Serrano Collier

Posted on March 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Josephine Serrano Collier, courtesy LAPD. The LAPD is honoring the memory of Officer Josephine Serrano Collier, who died last month at the age of 91 in Tucson. The LAPD says she was its first Latina officer. Here she is in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Obituaries | Tagged #Pershing Square, crime and courts, lapd, obituaries | Comments Off

LAPD Scrapbook: Convict Describes Killing by L.A. Cop, Daily News, June 7, 1949

Posted on March 19, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s another front page that was saved in the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives. This is the Daily News from June 7, 1949. Notice the bizarre byline: Will O’Wisp. I can’t recall seeing a fake byline on a news … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1949, Brenda Allen, film, hollywood, lapd | 7 Comments

LAPD Scrapbook: June 16, 1949

Posted on March 18, 2014 by lmharnisch

I recently visited the city archives and thanks to archivist Michael Holland, I learned that the LAPD kept scrapbooks in the 1940s. Not all years are represented, unfortunately, but the department apparently subscribed to a clipping service at one point. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged 1949, archives, Brenda Allen, lapd | 3 Comments

LAPD Officer Accused of Hitting Handcuffed Prisoner, March 5, 1914

Posted on March 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 5, 1914: Spring training! I jumped back to 1914 to see if I could find out anything about the Police Commissions order against non-Asian women in Oriental cafes. No luck, alas, but I did find a couple of goodies. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1914, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street, Sports | Tagged #DTLA, 1914, baseball, lapd, police brutality | Comments Off

LAPD Cracks Down on Non-Asian Women Working in ‘Oriental Cafes,’ March 10, 1914

Posted on March 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1914: Here’s another item I found at the city archives. Non-Asian women working at “Oriental cafes” except entertainers “does not comport with public welfare and morals.”

Posted in 1914, LAPD | Tagged 1914, Asian Americans, lapd | 2 Comments

The LAPD Adopts the Colt Police Positive and Smith & Wesson Police Special, 1914

Posted on March 12, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s an item from my visit to the city archives: The Police Commission approves the rule that all new LAPD officers must be provided with a Colt Police Positive or Smith & Wesson Police Special .38-caliber revolver.

Posted in 1914, LAPD | Tagged 1914, lapd | Comments Off

‘The Fountainhead’ Comics

Posted on March 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s a little sample of what I found while going through the Police Commission and Police Department materials from the 1940s at the city archives. Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” was serialized and accompanied by these illustrations by Frank Godwin.

Posted in 1949, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1949, Ayn Rand, Books and Authors, comics, film, Fountainhead, hollywood | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Black Dahlia Files and Donald Wolfe

Posted on February 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

While we are on the subject of nonsense in the Black Dahlia case, the Sky Valley Chronicle posted a story yesterday based on Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files.” As many of you may know, this book is so … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Donald Wolfe, LAPD | Tagged 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, black dahlia, cold cases, donald wolfe, lapd | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: George Hodel, Soil Analysis and Sweeps Month

Posted on February 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

Look it’s an “update” on the Buster the Wonder Dog saga, via L.A. Observed. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. For those of you (that would be most of the world) who haven’t followed the saga of “Buster the Wonder … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 2 Comments

Gunman Kills LAPD Officers Endler and Monaghan, Feb. 1, 1964

Posted on February 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 1, 1964: Police Sgt. Charles Paul Monaghan and Officer Robert M. Endler of the Wilshire Division are shot to death while investigating a man passing a bad check at the Sears store, 4550 W. Pico Blvd. He was arrested … Continue reading →

Posted in 1964, LAPD | Tagged 1964, lapd, Wilshire Division | Comments Off

Black Dahlia and the Cecil Hotel — Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on January 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

I don’t know how this nonsense gets started. There is nothing to show that Elizabeth Short ever set foot in the Cecil Hotel, as claimed by KABC-TV Channel 7.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged #DTLA, 1947, black dahlia, myths | 18 Comments

To Serve and to Collect — LAPD on EBay

Posted on January 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

An Ebay vendor is selling random issues of the LAPD’s Police Beat magazine from 1962 to 1967, including this issue featuring Chief William H. Parker, presumably honoring Parker after his death in 1966. Bidding starts at $16.95.

Posted in 1966, Found on EBay, LAPD | Tagged #EBay, 1966, lapd | Comments Off

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — Slaughter at Bob’s Big Boy, Part II

Posted on December 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

1980 was a bloody year in Los Angeles, with more than 1,000 killings for the first time in its history. For the LAPD, homicides increased 30% from 1979 to 1,038 in 1980. The Sheriff’s Department also a reported a 7.9% … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged 1980, crime and courts, homicide, lapd, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Comments Off