I went back to the States and started at a small newspaper in Riverside County, California, covering the police; I was making $280 a week covering the police.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I've made upwards of a million bucks in the cops-and-robbers business.
The majority of my interactions with police were not good. There were a few good ones who were actually protecting the community. But then you have ones from the Valley. They never met me in their life, but since I'm a kid in basketball shorts and a white T-shirt, they wanna slam me on the hood of the car. Sixteen years old.
I used to work as a private detective years and years ago.
The majority of information I gave police was about my wife and her family, which is what they wanted.
My first job was working in a dress shop in Los Angeles in 1940, for $7 a week.
Police blog or entertainment news, it's just good to see your name in print.
It was a department where you had honesty and integrity stamped right on you when you came into the Los Angeles Police Department. If you violated that, or if you were a dishonest cop, you were terrible. We got rid of you as quickly as possible.
I don't miss being a reporter as a job, but I do miss the everyday interaction with the front line of law enforcement. I still have a cadre of cops who keep me up to date, but I don't have the access I used to.
I've been getting pulled from newspapers for my entire career.
I took the California Highway Patrol exam and didn't pass, so I tried to be a cop and failed.