Danny R. Smith's Blog, page 13
April 5, 2018
The Fugitive Detail
[image error]Fugitive apprehension was filler work for SPI/Metro.
The nature of our assignments was responsive. Someone was kidnapped, we’d go to work. A prisoner escaped, we started a manhunt. A judge is threatened, we’d set up around-the-clock protection while investigating the source. And so on.
As explained in last week’s article about the Special Investigations Bureau, Metro detail had absorbed the duties of the department’s fugitive detail. There were file cabinets full of arrest warrants to be serv...
March 29, 2018
Special Investigations Bureau
[image error]SPI (pronounced “spy”), the acronym for Special Investigations Bureau, was a Detective Division assignment within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. It is now called Major Crimes Bureau. Personally, I liked SPI better.
The bureau comprises several details: Metro, Prison Gangs, Biker Gangs, Vice, Surveillance, and Organized Crime. I worked Metro. This is a plain-clothes, undercover assignment.
The Motto of SPI“Our job is so secret, even we don’t know wha...
March 22, 2018
Rodney King and the Riots
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While LAPD was busy kicking Rodney King’s ass somewhere off the L.A. to Canada freeway in Lake View Terrace, I was preparing for an upcoming civil trial in federal court. I was one of four defendants, all sheriff’s deputies, charged with federal civil rights violations.
The day after the infamous arrest of King, a video emerged of LAPD officers repeatedly striking the non-compliant King with their batons. News stations ran the video on a continuous loop 24/7 while the experts opined as to th...
March 15, 2018
Baby Vanessa
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It came in as a 902R (Radio code for rescue), “baby not breathing.” Three Basic Rules to Successful Policing 1) Don’t Go HungryFar 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 couple tacos or a burger at a local greasery.
2) Don’t Get WetWhen it’s raining, find shelter and a cup of coffee. Respond to calls as need...
March 8, 2018
Preparing Your Daughters to Date
Who would have thought?
While at the California Homicide Investigators Association annual convention last week in Las Vegas, I was visiting with a couple of detectives from the Seattle Police Department. Somehow, while discussing murder, mayhem, and the moral collapse of society, the topic of daughters came up. Britt, one of the two seaside detectives, was making fun of Jason for being modest and bashful. She said he blushes at the mere mention of lady parts....
February 28, 2018
Viva Las Vegas
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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. I would like to thank CHIA Director Karen Shonka for inviting me to attend this year as a vendor. I have attended many of these conferences over the years, but...
February 20, 2018
Doggone Blog
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, built for longevity. A special species of canines, these are dogs with jobs.
Ted Hamm, a large-framed, gray-bearded man with an easy smile, was one of the two faces associate...
February 14, 2018
Valentine’s Day Special
This was just my luck. Both daughters fell for the same boy, at the same time.
As a father, nothing is worse than that day you learn your daughter has fallen in love. I could see it in the sparkling of their eyes—each of them—and I knew it right away.
This was going to be a mess. Two sisters fighting over this so-called handsome lad.
That’s What They Thought of HimI personally found him a bit cocky. He seemed to posture a bit, maybe trying to intimidate or impress m...
February 8, 2018
Whittier Narrows Earthquake
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.
Our friendship predated the department. We were hired and put through the academy together. Once graduated, we worked custody together. A couple of years later we transferred to Firestone Station together, landing two of the five available spots. We joked that we had joined the department on...
February 4, 2018
Dance with a Demon
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Hell found me. It seeped into my skin and flowed through my veins as I held the hand of a killer.
The Interview“You’re not a bad girl, Sandra,” I told her, staring into the hollow eyes that shifted from me to the floor.
I saw no remorse, no emotion. She seemed to be thinking, plotting a way out.
“This thing was out of your control,” I continued.
“Yeah?” she said, her voice lilting with the possibility.
“But, you know, Sandra, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve investigated a lot of...
