by John Buntin
Chapter Twenty-seven: Watts
“This community has done …”: Woods, “The Progressives and the Police,” 475-76.
Minikus told Marquette that: My account of the beginning of the riots comes from Robert Conot’s Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness (6-29) and from the Governor’s Commission on the Los Angeles Riots report (the so-called McCone Commission), issued December 5, 1965, reprinted in Robert Fogelson, ed., Mass Violence in America (10-23). Frye would later challenge this account, claiming that the Highway Patrol officer had been preparing to release him until other officers arrived with a nastier attitude. See Horne, The Fire Next Time, 54.
It was a sweltering: Conot, Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness, 6.
Gates had enjoyed a: Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, June 2, 1965, CRC scrapbook.
What he saw was: Gates, Chief, 90.
The police had regrouped: In fact, thanks to the strike at Harvey Aluminum, L.A. County sheriff Peter Pritchess had also placed a sizable number of deputy sheriffs on alert near the area—roughly two hundred. Nothing prevented Deputy Chief Murdock from calling them in as assistance. Yet no calls were made that night to the sheriff’s department. Conot, Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness, 50, 65.
This characterization of the early morning comes from the McCone Commission report, cited above. Gates, Chief, 90-91, portrays events of the first morning in a less positive light.
Chief Parker did not: “‘Pseudoleaders Who Can’t Lead,’ Blamed by Parker,” Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, August 15, 1965; “Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker 3d,” New York Times, August 14, 1965.
Around midnight, the comedian: Gregory, Call On My Soul, 111.
They didn’t. By 4: Gates, Chief, 99.
At 9:45 a.m., Parker: Parker would later claim that Colonel Quick, the National Guard liaison present at the 9:45 LAPD staff meeting, had received the request and promised the chief to submit it immediately. Colonel Quick, in contrast, would recall a more general conversation, one that did not include a direct and specific request for the Guard.
At 11 a.m., Governor Brown’s: Anderson did order the Guard to marshal forces at local armories at 5 p.m. Friday afternoon, in the event a call-up was necessary. Anderson would tell the McCone Commission that he had been advised that a five o’clock call out was the earliest time feasible for a guard deployment. Unaware of the location of the Third Brigade, the lieutenant governor thus felt that he had the afternoon to investigate and deliberate.
To Parker, it was: Gottlieb and Wolt, Thinking Big, 378.
The other important freeway: Author interview with Harold Sullivan, July 26, 2007.
Friday night brought something: Horne, Fire This Time, 72.
Desperate to restore order: According to the McCone Commission, the maximum deployment of the LAPD during the riots was 934 officers; the maximum for the sheriff’s department was 719 officers. For an account of Parker’s television appearance, see Conot, Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness, 348-49.
To groups like: Horwitt, Let Them Call Me Rebel, xv
Still, King tried to: Horne, Fire This Time, 183.
To Mayor Sam Yorty: Parker’s concerns about communist agitation would at one time have been quite understandable. According to Horne, during the 1940s, Los Angeles “had one of the highest concentrations of Communists in the nation,” with roughly 4,000 card-carrying members. However, by 1965, the power the party once held over Hollywood’s unions and the city’s trade unions—and in L.A.’s African American community—had been broken. In comparison, the Nation of Islam (which Parker insisted on viewing as some adjunct of the party) emphasized an almost Booker T. Washington-like ideology of black self-sufficiency. Horne, Fire This Time, 5, 11. See also Hertel and Blake, “Parker Hints Muslims Took Part in Rioting,” Los Angeles Times, August 17, 1965.
At 2 a.m. on the: LAPD informant Louis Tackwood would later claim that he had instigated the call at the department’s behest. Horne, Fire This Time, 126; Erwin Baker, “Mills Tells Parker to Explain Raid: Chief Denies Councilman Has Right to Quiz Him on Muslims,” Los Angeles Times, November 9, 1965, 3. Parker later agreed to testify. “L.A. Councilmen to Hear Parker,” Valley-Times, September 11, 1965.
The following day, the: Horne, Fire This Time, 127-28.
On August 29: “Chief William Parker Speaks,” Parker FBI file.
California governor Pat Brown: Fogelson, “White on Black,” 114.
The testimony of many: Fogelson, “White on Black,” 124, quoting testimony of Mervyn Dymally, “statement prepared for the Governor’s Commission on the Los Angeles Riots,” October 11, 1965, 2.
Parker, Ferraro, and Yorty: Fogelson, “White on Black,” 126, quoting testimony of Mervyn Dymally, “statement prepared for the Governor’s Commission on the Los Angeles Riots,” October 11, 1965, 2.
Civil rights leaders attacked: See Rustin, “The Watts ‘Manifesto’ and the McCone Report,” 147, for the typical reading of this statement.
“I have my suspicions”: “Riot Hearings Boil, Parker, Bradley in Row Over ‘Mystery Man,’” Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, September 14, 1965. See also Dallas Morning News, September 14, 1965.
Parker’s combative appearances belied: Memorandum from Acting Chief Richard Simon to Police Commission, “Subject: Request for Five Additional Positions of Lt of Police to Be Community Relations Officers,” October 12, 1965, CRC.
But the commission raised: See the section of the McCone Commission report entitled “Law Enforcement—the Thin Thread;” Rustin, “The Watts ‘Manifesto’ and the McCone Report,” 153.
“I think they’re afraid: Los Angeles Times, January 24, 1966.
Parker’s popularity dissuaded the: von Hoffman, “L.A. Chief Overlooked a Bad Heart to Serve,” Washington Post, July 18, 1966, A1.
Privately, however, many recognized: FBI memorandum to Mr. Felt from H. L. Edars, “Subject: NDAA Midyear Meeting, Tucson, AZ,” March 4, 1966, Parker FBI file; “Parker Out of Hospital, Will Rest,” Hollywood Citizen-News, March 15, 1965.
The memo concluded by: It should also be noted that Parker believed that, after rising 130 percent in nine years, crime had “plateaued.” Newsom, “Men Efficient, Vigilant, Brave, Chief Relates,” Hollywood Citizen-News, June 20, 1965.
On the evening of: West, “Chief Parker Collapses, Dies at Award Banquet, Stricken During Standing Ovation by Marine Veterans,” Los Angeles Times, July 16, 1966.
His death will be: Houston, “Police Chief Parker’s Death Mourned in City and State, Meeting May Be Today to Name his Successor,” Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1966; “Friends, Critics Praise Parker,” Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, June 18, 1966.
At the funeral home: “6000 Pay Last Tribute to Parker, Chief Eulogized in Congress,” Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, July 21, 1966, A16.
Chapter Twenty-eight: R.I.P.
“I don’t want to …”: Lewis, Hollywood’s Gangster Celebrity, 318.
“The notions in it,”: Domanick, To Protect and to Serve, 155-56; Woods, “The Progressives and the Police,” 502.
Four LAPD patrol cars: Gates, Chief, 147-53. Information about the LAPD’s secret policy of providing police escorts to visiting dignitaries comes from an author interview with former police commissioner Frank Hathaway, February 17, 2008.
“I’m gonna use you …”: Cohen, In My Own Words, 233.
“I got a definite …”: Cohen, In My Own Words, 234-36.
Once again, a crowd: Lewis, Hollywood’s Celebrity Gangster, 307.
Then it was on: Cohen, In My Own Words, 238-43.
In September 1975, Mickey: Lewis, Hollywood’s Celebrity Gangster, 325.
Epilogue
“This city is plagued …”: Mydans, “‘It Could Happen Again,’ Report on Los Angeles Riots Blames Police and City,” New York Times, October 25, 1992.
In 1969, LAPD: Woods, “The Progressives and the Police,” 504.
Just before: “Politics and the LAPD,” Los Angeles Times, April 11, 1969, C6.
R
eddin’s decision to step: Woods, “The Progressives and the Police,” 505; Cannon, Official Negligence, 88.
It took Bradley: Dominick, To Protect and to Serve, 160, 294.
In January 1978, after: Cannon, Official Negligence, 90. After his resignation in 1978, Davis did run for office, winning election as a Republican to the state senate in 1980.
Mayor Bradley didn’t want: Gates, Chief, 174.
“You know,” Gates replied: Gates, Chief, 176.
There were three passengers: Lou Cannon’s Official Negligence provides a convincing—and strikingly revisionist—account of the Rodney King beatings. For anyone interested in the history of Los Angeles, the LAPD, or policing in general, Cannon’s book is a must-read.
The LAPD hierarchy was: Gates, Chief, 316, 318.
The Police Commission, whose: Gates, Chief, 340.
Three months later, on: Cannon, Official Negligence, 142-44.
One of the commission’s most: Gates, Chief, 348-49; Cannon, Official Negligence, 139.
Gates immediately recognized that: Gates, Chief, 351.
At least, that was: Cannon, Official Negligence, 264.
The mood at police: Cannon, Official Negligence, 300.
Gates did not return: Cannon, Official Negligence, 305, 341.
On June 2: Cannon, Official Negligence, 356; “Final Election Returns,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1992, A20. See also Sahagun, “Riots Transform Campaign on Police Reform,” Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1992, B1; and Berger, “Elections ’92 LAPD Disciplinary System to Undergo Major Restructuring Police,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1992, B3.
Select Bibliography
A Note on Sources:
Many of the periodicals cited in the Notes and below came from the LAPD scrapbooks at the City Records Center (CRC) in Los Angeles. Often these clippings lack page numbers or even headlines. I have tried to provide the most complete citation possible, citing the paper’s name at the time of each article publication. (The scrapbooks may be reviewed in person at the City Records Center at the Piper Technical Center downtown.)
Files identified as LAPD departmental records are stored at the CRC but are not available to the general public.
Adams, Val. “Mike Wallace Puts Out Dragnet to Line Up ‘Talent’ for His New Show,” New York Times, April 21, 1957.
Ainsworth, Ed. Maverick Mayor: A Biography of Sam Yorty, Mayor of Los Angeles. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966.
Alexander, David. Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry. New York: ROC, 1994.
Anderson, Clinton. Beverly Hills Is My Beat. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1960.
Baker, Erwin. “Mills Tells Parker to Explain Raid: Chief Denies Councilman Has Right to Quiz Him on Muslims,” Los Angeles Times, November 9, 1965.
Bass, Sandra, and John T. Donovan. “The Los Angeles Police Department” in The Development of Los Angeles City Government: An Institutional History, 1850-2000. Los Angeles: Los Angeles City Historical Society, 2007.
Becker, Bill. “Police Brutality on Coast Denied: Los Angeles Chief Answers Charges of Anti-Negro Tactics by His Force,” New York Times, January 27, 1960.
Berger, Leslie. “Elections ’92 LAPD Disciplinary System to Undergo Major Restructuring Police,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1992.
Blake, Gene. “First Such Convention in City Brings with It Host of New Problems,” Los Angeles Times, May 30, 1960.
Branch, Taylor. Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998.
____. At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years 1965-1968. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.
Caen, Herb. “Another World: Search for the Prize Topper,” Los Angeles Times, June 15, 1960.
Caldwell, B. R. Letter to HQ, Los Angeles Procurement District, February 23, 1943. William H. Parker Police Foundation archives.
California Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. “An Analysis of the McCone Commission Report.” January 1966. LAPD official records box 84638, City Records Center.
California Eagle. “Police Investigation Points Up Brutality In Minority Community.” June 30, 1949.
California Special Crime Study Commission on Organized Crime reports. March 7, 1949; January 31, 1950; November 15, 1950; and May 11, 1953. Sacramento, California.
Cannon, Lou. Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD. New York: Times Books, 1997.
Carte, Gene, and Elaine Carte. Police Reform in the United States: The Era of August Vollmer. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.
Chandler, Raymond. “The Simple Art of Murder.” The Atlantic Monthly. December 1944.
____. The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely. New York: The Modern Library, 1995.
Chicago Daily Tribune. “Lana’s Romance with Stompanato Cools: Star Asks to Be Left Alone.” April 10, 1958.
Chicago Sun-Times. “Ex-Marine Tightened Up Los Angeles Police.” March 12, 1952.
Chicago Tribune. “Cohen Admits Big Gambling Take in Hotel Dice Games,” June 22, 1961.
City Council Minutes. August 14, 1934, 234-35.
________. Vol. 249, October 5, 1934, 18. Los Angeles City Archives, Piper Technical Center.
________. Vol. 247, June 14, 1934, 248. See also the attached city council files, Los Angeles City Archives, Piper Technical Center, File No. 3140 (1934).
_________. Vol. 248, August 14, 1934, 235-36. See City Council Minutes, August 15, 1934.
____. Memorandum to the City Council from the Police Commission, “Subject: Council File No. 89512,” August 6, 1959, CRC.
City News Service. “Parker Hits at Highest Court Ruling in Irvine ‘Bookie’ Case,” Los Angeles Journal, February 19, 1954.
Civil Rights Congress, “Is the Police Department Above the Law?” pamphlet, Southern California Library, Los Angeles.
Clarke, John, and Joseph Saldana, “True Life Story of Mickey Cohen.” July 1949.
Coates, Paul. “Midnight Memo to the Mayor,” Los Angeles Mirror. July 20, 1953.
____. “Lid Off L.A.!” Los Angeles Mirror-News, February 15, 1952.
______. “A Cool Customer in a Hot Spot.” Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1962.
Cohen, Michael. “Cohen’s Own Story of Cafe Shooting.” Los Angeles Herald, December 3, 1959. CRC scrapbook.
Cohen, Mickey. Unpublished manuscript, n.p., Hecht Papers, Newberry Library, Chicago.
Cohen, Mickey, as told to John Peer Nugent. In My Own Words. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975.
Cohen letter to Hecht, March 22, 1964. Newberry Library, Chicago.
Conot, Robert. Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness: The Unforgettable Classic Account of the Watts Riot. New York: Bantam, 1967.
Cosmopolitan. “Portrait of a Punk.”
Davidson, Bill. “The Mafia Can’t Crack Los Angeles.” Saturday Evening Post, July 31, 1965.
Davis, Clark. “The View from Spring Street: White-Collar Men in the City of Angeles” in Metropolis in the Making.
Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno. New York: Times Books, 1981.
Dixon, Jane. “Problems of a Working Girl: Queer Aspects of Human Nature Exhibited to Quiet and Watchful Theater Workers, Says Love Is Catching ‘Like the Measles.’” Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1919.
Domanick, Joe. To Protect and to Serve: The LAPD’s Century of War in the City of Dreams. New York: Pocket Books, 1994.
Donner, Frank. The Age of Surveillance: The Aims and Methods of America’s Political Intelligence System. New York: Random House, 1980.
Escobar, Edward. Race, Police, and the Making of a Political Identity: Mexican-Americans and the Los Angeles Police Department 1900-1945. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999.
____ “Bloody Christmas and the Irony of Police Professionalism: The Los Angeles Police Department, Mexican Americans, and Police Reform in the 1950s,” Pacific Historical Review 72, 2.
&n
bsp; Ethington, Philip. “The Global Spaces of Los Angeles, 1920s-1930s” in Gyan Prakash and Kevin Kruse, eds., The Spaces of the Modern City. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008.
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Freedom of Information Act files: Meyer Harris Cohen, File #7-HQ-5908, 58-HQ-6129, 92-HQ-3156; James Dragna; William H. Parker (see in particular August 2, 1963, memo, Parker FBI file, for the origins of the FBI feud); Johnny Roselli; Bugsy Siegel; and Lana Turner.
Findley, James Clifford. “The Economic Boom of the ’Twenties in Los Angeles,” unpublished dissertation, Claremont (California) Graduate School, 1958.
Fishgall, Gary. Gonna Do Great Things: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Fleming, Lou. “Stevenson Supporters Try to Invade Arena, Extra Police Rushed to Entrance as Chanting Crowd of 600 Mills About.” Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1960.
Fogelson, Robert. Big City Police. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1977.
________ The Fragmented Metropolis: Los Angeles, 1850-1930. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993.
____, ed. Mass Violence in America: The Los Angeles Riots. New York: Arno Press, 1969.
____. “White on Black: A Critique of the McCone Commission Report on the Los Angeles Riots” in Robert Fogelson, ed. The Los Angeles Riots. New York: Arno Press, 1969.
Ford, John Anson. Honest Politics My Theme. New York: Vantage Press, 1978.
Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: Penguin, 1989.
Frank, Benis, interviewer. “Oral History Transcript: General William Worton.” Washington, D.C.: Historical Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
Frawley, Harry. “Police Board Will Use More Power—Mayor.” Valley Times, August 8, 1950.
Friedrich, Otto. City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940’s. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.
Gabler, Neil. An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood. New York: Doubleday, 1989.
Garland, Hamlin. Diaries. San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1968, p. 40.
Gates, Daryl. Chief: My Life in the L.A.P.D. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
