Danny R. Smith's Blog, page 9

Off-Duty LAPD Officer Killed by Gunfire

LAPD Officer Gunned Down at a Taco Stand

[image error]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.

The off-duty officer was shot and killed as he and his girlfriend—and possibly her brothers, depending on the news source—were either ordering food at the taco stand and were confronted by the suspects, or when the officer...

The Hiring Process: My Experience with LASD

As a teenager, I was no fan of the cops.

That was nothing unusual for a hot-rodder who liked to street race and cruise and maybe partake in adult libations at times.

Entering Adulthood

After graduating high school, I got a job working security at Bendix Corporation in Sylmar. I worked nights while attending college and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Ironically, I took a journalism class, and quickly decided I was not cut out to be a writer.

The chief of security at Ben...

Leaving a Legacy

In the morning, the day before Father’s Day, I stood beneath a crystal blue Idaho sky to say goodbye to a family friend.

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His name was Bill, and he had lived a full life of eighty-eight years. There were about fifty family and friends assembled on a well-tended lawn peppered with granite markers of various shapes and sizes, some protruding from the ground and others flush with the earth, if not hidden by the summer grass.

[image error]As we listened to a very old tune that most people seemed to enjoy—one...

Congressional Baseball Game Shooting

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.

[image error]There was nothing spectacular or even memorable about her day. She had slept, she worked out in the afternoon, and she had dinner with her husband before returning that evening for her next shift.

Nicole could not have predicted that one year later, to th...

Angie Dodge Murder: Solved

[image error]Canyon County Booking Photo – Brian Leigh Dripps

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.

The Investigation

In June of 2018, I wrote a blog about Angie’s murder and my limited involvement in reviewing the case file and following ne...

Crazy Cindy

Cindy has a great personality.

Okay, that’s not the truth. Actually, she has a really, REALLY nasty disposition.

[image error]Crazy Cindy, a truly ugly cow

But, as I reflect on Mother’s Day weekend, I feel compelled to say she is a good mama. And by good mama, what I mean is she will kill any human who comes between her and her calf. You have to respect that.

“No, I don’t have to respect that,” said the very lovely Mrs. Smith, on many occasions.

Misunderstood Bovine

“She’s misunderstood,” I always insist....

Patrol Training at Firestone Station

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.

[image error]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 with a deadly weapon) stabbing victim. Griff grabbed the mic and quickly acknowledged the call with an excitement I hadn’t previously seen from him. He flipped the lights and sirens on and s...

Life and Death in L.A.: Then and Now

[image error]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.

Violent Crime Rates Soared

[image error]The death rate was staggering.

Army medics were sent to Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital for training, as it was said there were no other emergency rooms in the country that saw the same volu...

In Harm’s Way

[image error]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 asked if I had ever been afraid.

Fear or No Fear

I pondered the question enough that I had a restless night—something that still happens on those occasions when the Door to a Dark Room is cracked open. Not surprisingly,...

Profiling: Not Just a Dirty Word

Profiling is an effective tool for detecting and preventing crime and apprehending criminals.

[image error]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.

Reasonable people would ask why we spend so much time and money to train these men and women if they are unable to use their training and th...