Once Upon A Time in Compton

by Brennan, Tim; Ladd, Robert; Files, Lolita

  The guys called their bluff and continued their campaign against the mayor.

  While the main antagonists were off on leave, and an investigation had opened up on Joanna after her computer had been confiscated, only Tim was left behind to continue the fight. Copies of “The Truth” kept popping up, finding their way to other departments, to the news, and to the courthouse.

  The pressure was getting to R.E. and Gary Anderson and they mostly stayed inside their offices. The environment around them wasn’t exactly friendly.

  One day, R.E. called Tim into his office and told him that he was considering placing him on administrative leave. Tim demanded to know why. R.E. said Mayor Bradley told him he’d been contacted by gang members who’d said Tim was using his influence with gangs to have the mayor killed.

  “That shit is ridiculous,” Tim said, laughing.

  R.E. told him that the mayor didn’t want to pursue charges against him, but wanted Tim to stop the campaign against him.

  “Are we done?” Tim asked.

  “For now.”

  Tim left his office.

  ***

  Three months passed. Eddie, Marv, and Bob were still on administrative leave while Tim held things down at the department. It was about time to bring them back.

  Anderson called Eddie and told him he was going to be reinstated back to full duty. He asked Eddie to call Bob and tell him to come back as well, which Eddie did. They were all furious that Anderson hadn’t called Bob directly to ask him to return.

  When they asked Eddie about whether Marv was coming back, Eddie said Marv hadn’t been mentioned. They came up with a plan, meeting at Marv’s house to discuss it.

  Since no one had shown Bob the courtesy of calling him to tell him to return to work, they would send Marv instead. Marv would return, hugging everyone he could and letting them all know he was back. That meant stopping in the records division and communications. The guys knew Marv would get sent home, but the plan was for him to make a scene and act distressed and confused about what was going on.

  This would kill two birds with one stone, they figured, bringing attention to how ineptly they felt the place was being run. Plus, Marv was well-liked in the department. People would feel sorry for him for being the victim of such a blunder, and it would gain them all sympathy from those who had been on the fence.

  Bob would stay at home during all of this, acting as though he had no idea he'd been called back. When Eddie was confronted by Anderson about the mistake, he would say he thought Anderson had asked for Marv, not Bob, and that maybe Anderson should have called Bob himself to prevent the confusion.

  If everything worked out according to plan, it would make R.E. and Anderson look bad while garnering Bob, Marv, and Eddie the support of their peers.

  Things went exactly as planned.

  Marv went in, excited to return. He saw as many co-workers as possible, letting them know he was back on the job. In short order, Anderson confronted him, asking what he was doing.

  “Eddie told me you said I was reinstated,” Marv said.

  That was a mistake, Anderson said, and he told Marv to go home.

  Marv made a huge scene. When he finally left, Anderson went to Eddie and asked why Marv had come back and not Bob.

  “But I thought you said Marv,” Eddie replied.

  The entire department was pissed that Marv had been put in such an awkward position. It had taken a lot of balls for the guys to pull this off, but it had worked.

  R.E. and Anderson were just as furious as the rest of the department, but for different reasons, obviously. This move had made them look bad. Their buttons were being pushed and pushed hard and they didn’t like it.

  Bob waited for the phone call from Anderson, which came a short while later. Anderson was cold as he spoke to Bob, but Bob acted like he didn’t know a thing.

  ***

  What was thought to be a real victory turned out to be a pyrrhic one. When Bob, Marv, and Eddie returned to work, Mayor Bradley and the city council held a private meeting and voted to bring in the Sheriff’s Department to assess things. It would be a six-month process, but by January of 2000, the L.A.S.D. would take over and the Compton P.D. would no longer exist.

  Everyone thought they were bluffing. There was no way the Sheriff’s Department would be brought in to replace an entire police force. Sure enough, however, they arrived.

  The police union met with lawyers, trying to stop the L.A.S.D. They went to civil court to get an injunction. They filed a federal lawsuit. None of it worked. The sheriffs were taking over and there was nothing anybody could do.

  The guys had pushed a lot of buttons leading up to this measure, but they’d thought they had some latitude in fighting for what they believed. They knew there was the possibility of being further sanctioned, but this option - such a final and draconian one - was never within the realm of their consideration. After all, who would shut down an entire police department? One that had been in existence for well over a hundred years?

  Tim and Bob realized they were partly to blame for what was happening. They had deliberately pissed off Mayor Bradley, even after being told by other members within the department to back off because there were many things they didn’t know. That it was in their best interests to chill. Tim and Bob ignored this advice and pressed on. In hindsight, they were able to see that maybe they should have just stood down.

  Acting Chief R.E. and Gary Anderson remained in their offices during that six-month assessment period, never once trying to make things better. Tim and Bob felt those two shouldered part of the blame. A bridge could have been built. Peace could have been made. Maybe if talks had taken place and mutual olive branches had been extended, it could have ended the fighting and saved the department. Everything didn’t have to come tumbling down.

  During those six months before the takeover, everyone at Compton P.D. looked on in horror as the sheriffs came in and set up shop. The sheriffs stayed inside their offices, but they were the ones in direct contact now with Mayor Bradley and the city. The police association no longer had that role.

  Years later, Tim and Bob remain saddened by it all. Perhaps, nearly two decades later, there were regrets on both sides. Several of Tim and Bob’s peers blame them and the others in the union for Compton P.D.’s fall. While their feelings were understandable, Tim and Bob, at that time, felt they needed to do something and believed what they were doing was the right thing.

  To this day, they still do.

  ***

  The L.A.S.D. never came to the Compton police union’s aid. Lee Baca was a powerful sheriff. The Compton police union wasn’t just fighting the city, they were now fighting Baca and the L.A.S.D. as well.

  Citizen groups were outraged at the mayor and started a recall campaign, led by Captain Perrodin’s brother, Deputy D.A. Eric Perrodin. During city council meetings, which were overflowing with angry citizens, Mayor Bradley emphasized that he would do as he chose.

  Over the continued objections of citizens, in September 2000, Bradley and his allies voted to disband the Compton Police Department and contract with the L.A.S.D. for police services. Most of the Compton P.D. personnel took jobs with the L.A.S.D. Some went to other agencies. Everyone was moved out of Compton, leaving a large void in gang intelligence.

  Prior to the Compton P.D. being disbanded, the D.A.’s Corruption Unit and the F.B.I. had been contacted about what was going on in Compton’s city government. It didn’t stop the Compton P.D. from being shut down, but in March 2003 - after investigations, search warrants, and local and federal grand juries - City Manager, John D. Johnson, Councilpersons, Delores Zurita, Amen Rahh, Yvonne Arceneaux, and Mayor Bradley were indicted on corruption charges.[43] Bradley and Johnson were sentenced to three years in prison. Rahh received a suspended sentence and probation.

  Nine years later, in 2012, Bradley’s conviction was overturned.[44]

  ***

  In 2001, Deputy D.A. Eric Perrodin was elected mayor of Compton. H
e vowed to bring back the police department, and tried to do so during his twelve years - from 2001 through 2013 - making him the longest serving mayor in the city’s history.

  The Compton Police Department, as of this writing, remains disbanded.

  20

  THE END OF AN ERA

  September 16, 2000 was one of the worst days of Tim and Bob’s careers. It was officially the end of the Compton Police Department. Effective the next day - September 17, 2000 - the L.A.S.D. would take over policing the city.

  Good times on the lot behind the police station. George Betor, Tim Brennan, Bob Ladd, Bud Johnson, Dave Leverick, and Ed Jackson.

  The sheriffs didn’t understand why Tim and Bob didn’t want to join their force, but the now-former Compton detectives were proud. They had been a part of a police department that had been in existence since 1888. They had loved working in the gang unit. Now here they were at the ceremony where the big switcheroo was taking place. They were going to have to face Mayor Omar Bradley, even though their mutual dislike was undeniably palpable. The prolonged battle with Bradley and his people at City Hall had taken its toll. Now here the detectives were, dressed in what they saw as the uniform of surrender - tan and green - as they were absorbed into the L.A.S.D.’s system.

  Sheriff Lee Baca was present for all the pomp and circumstance. There were speeches made, photos taken. Tim and Bob both wanted to puke.

  Last Day of the Compton Police Department. Sheriff Lee Baca, center.

  The moment came when, one-by-one, newly-made sheriffs coming into the force from the now-defunct Compton P.D. had to shake hands with Sheriff Baca and Mayor Bradley. Tim and Bob were both seething. They hated everything, most of all having to interact with Bradley as though all the venom between them didn’t exist.

  Several people didn’t shake Bradley's hand. The biggest standout among those who didn’t was Marv Branscomb. Tim and Bob suspected that Marv wasn’t going to do it. There was no way in hell he could get past the bad blood he had for the mayor. Still, Tim and Bob were shocked to see Marv hold fast about refusing to shake Bradley’s hand in front of all the dignitaries present.

  ***

  After the big dog-and-pony show, it was back to business. The contract the city negotiated with the L.A.S.D. dictated the what, where, and how of things. It laid out who would go where. If someone had been on the force for less than six years, they had to go back to working the jail. Patrol personnel had a wish list of patrol, the courts, or jail. Just because someone put in a request for one of those three spots, however, didn’t mean it would be assigned.

  Doing a year as a cop on the Compton police force was like doing five somewhere else. It was excellent preparation for handling crime, shootings, robberies, and domestic calls. It would seem logical that former Compton patrol cops would be put on patrol duty as a sheriff.

  Not so. Former street cops were sent instead to work the jails. It was a travesty, but nothing could be done. This was the new system.

  Sergeants from the Compton force remained sergeants in the Sheriff’s Department. The same applied to lieutenants. Former captains were now lieutenants as well.

  There was a catch, however, with so-called rabble-rousers detectives - Tim, Bob, Eddie, Ray, Marv, and a few others. They didn’t get shit. Even worse, for a three-month period, they had to continue to work as sheriffs out of the Compton police station. After that, they got their wish list choice of working patrol, courts, or the jail. Tim stayed in the gang unit. Bob went upstairs as a stolen vehicle and burglary detective.

  It was all very awkward. Tim and Bob had been gang homicide detectives handling some of the most difficult cases in the country, and testifying as experts practically every week. They traveled out of state to testify about Crips and Bloods. They had a great reputation with the D.A.’s office and were sought after to testify as expert witnesses.

  Tim and Bob, admittedly, had big egos about how good they were at gang work. It was something they’d put years into, a system that had proven effective and was used as a model to train law enforcement agencies across the country.

  The L.A.S.D. didn’t care how experienced Tim and Bob were. Perhaps they were teaching the two men a lesson. Tim and Bob had been very vocal about not wanting to be sheriffs. Consequently, by a show of indifference about the expertise the two men possessed, the Sheriff’s Department made them feel even more marginalized.

  Tim and Bob didn’t have anything against the L.A.S.D. They just wanted to remain in the Compton P.D. It had broken their hearts to see the department disbanded.

  The L.A.S.D. often pointed out that they were one of the most prestigious departments in the world. They had great equipment, they said. There were more opportunities. They even bragged about having better pay (a topic of which Tim and Bob were quick to call “bullshit”). Why wouldn’t anyone want to be a sheriff?

  Tim and Bob both wanted to say “fuck you!” in response to the whole “the Sheriff’s Department is awesome” thing. They wanted to, but they didn’t. What was the point?

  ***

  That first month having to work as a sheriff out of the former Compton police station was both awkward and strange. Half the detectives were sheriffs. The other half were ex-Compton P.D., mostly old salty dogs who had seen it all and were used to overwhelming caseloads. The sheriffs were young detectives, many brand new. There were three sergeants and a lieutenant assigned to the detective bureau. Tim and Bob didn’t know many of them, and for the first couple of weeks, they didn’t talk to any of them, except on a professional level. Both sides were feeling each other out.

  In retrospect, it was comical the way things went down. The old Compton guys were upbeat, talking amongst themselves, joking around with each other like they always had. They thought everyone worked this way.

  Not the sheriffs. They were quiet. Subdued. The former Compton people would say things like, “Jeez, relax already!” and “Loosen up!” under their breaths, but the sheriffs were so uptight. They looked at the former Compton cops as crazy loudmouths.

  They were probably right.

  ***

  There was a skinny lieutenant in charge, a nerdy-looking guy who wore thick glasses. It was apparent he’d never worked the streets for any length of time. The streets would be hard-pressed to respect someone so bookwormish. He walked around and stared at everyone, never saying anything. The young new sheriffs seemed terrified of him. In the old Compton force, the nebbish lieutenant would have been chewed up and spit out.

  Bob liked the three sergeants, though. One was an older veteran with lots of experience. The sergeant Bob reported to was a woman whom he thought was great. The sergeants treated them very well. It was a welcome relief at a time when there had been so many hard pills to swallow.

  Bob had a few heart-to-heart talks with his sergeant. She understood what he, Tim, and the others were going through and never treated them unfairly. After Bob left the L.A.S.D., his sergeant made lieutenant. He was genuinely happy for her.

  Bob’s partner in the Sheriff’s Department was also a woman. She was very green, but she was super-nice. One of his first calls with her was a burglary where the homeowner, who was inside the house, had shot the suspect as he was attempting to flee through the window. The suspect, who was being treated at the hospital and the crime scene, which was a bloody mess, was being held for Bob and his partner.

  Bob remembered the look on his partner’s face when the sergeant explained what had happened and told Bob’s very green partner that she would be the lead on things. She turned to him and asked if he would help. She’d never handled a scene like this one.

  “Sure,” Bob said. “No problem!”

  The crime scene was a crazy mess when they arrived. Blood and evidence were everywhere. Bob had handled a ton of these types of scenes. To him, this was just one more.

  Bob walked his partner though the process, from beginning to end. They went to the hospital and interviewed the suspect. His partner started asking the suspect que
stions without first reading him his Miranda rights. Bob found a way to interrupt her without making her feel as green as she was or tipping off to the suspect that she was a rookie. She appreciated Bob for that and the care he took with her. After that first call, the two of them worked well together.

  Overall, Tim and Bob were treated well; although during the transition when several members of the Homicide unit came over and went through all the open homicide cases, they were dicks to the ex-Compton cops. Even though Bob knew some of them and had helped them in the past, they didn’t even acknowledge him.

  But although the majority of the people treated Bob well, he knew it wasn’t the place for him. Everything was so regimented. There was a rule for everything and things were the way they were, take it or leave it. He never bothered to argue because he knew it wouldn’t matter. They wouldn’t budge.

  Tim and Bob understood they were now a part of a huge department. They were just cogs in a vast machine. They didn’t know these guys. They hadn’t come up in the ranks with them. They didn’t go to the academy together. They hadn’t worked the jails. There were no bonds or forged camaraderie.

  After years of being a part of something important, they were now the outsiders.

  ***

  By the time their three months were up, they’d been hearing horror stories from the younger guys about how awful it was to work the jails. They were constantly getting sick because of inmates. One guy said he was walking down the hallway past several inmates lined up, when one of them punched him in the face for no reason. The guy said they beat the shit out of the inmate.

  After eighteen years in the streets, Tim and Bob wanted no parts of that kind of thing. Their first choice had been patrol. Their second choice was working the courts. Jail was their last choice.