“TWO-GUN DAVIS” — James E. Davis (1889-1949) in a Los Angles Herald-Examiner photo dated April 19, 1931. Davis was the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1926 to 1931, and from 1933 to 1939. According to the LAPD’s very own website, he created a “gun squad” staffed with 50 cops, publicly pronouncing that “the gun-toting element and the rum smugglers are going to learn that murder and gun-toting are inimical to their best interest.” In terms more friendly to an action film, Davis also declared the LAPD “would hold court on gunmen in the Los Angeles streets; I want them brought in dead, not alive, and will reprimand any officer who shows the least mercy to a criminal.” His time as chief saw widespread police brutality, political corruption, red-baiting thuggery, and bribery. Davis’ controversial reputation, along with the fact that he was a prize-winning marksman, helped to earn him the nickname “Two-Gun Davis”.
(Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library. Information from here and here.)
Los Angeles, 1929. The children of LAPD Chief James E. Davis pose with Lobo the police dog.
Sean Penn and Robert Duvall in press kit pic for Colors, 1988, directed by Dennis Hopper.
LAPD 1967 — “Officer Fred Ponzio shows some of the equipment needed by a policeman in Los Angeles in 1967. Included are a gas mask, bullet-proof vest, shotgun and revolver. In the background are recording equipment and teletype.”
(via going-going-gawne)
OSCARS FAN CRUSH, Hollywood, 1959:
“More than 2500 movie fans, one of the largest crowds in recent history of the event, jammed the Pantages Theater sidewalks to watch the parade of stars arriving for the Academy Awards presentation on April 7, 1959. After the ceremony began, some of them surged through ropes and chain barriers toward the theater entrance. Finally, police formed a ‘human chain’ to turn back the tide.”
Photo by Howard Ballew.
And the Oscar for Scariest Vehicle Goes To…. — Just as the Academy Awards were starting, officers of the LAPD were down the street in this fearsome vehicle. It’s called the Bearcat, a SWAT truck manufactured by Lenco Armored Vehicles.
LAPD squad cars parked a few blocks from the Academy Awards. Hollywood, California. February 26, 2012.
A scene from Watts, Los Angeles, 1966: “Ambulance men and police prepare to remove a sniper’s victim, who was shot in the head on Wilmington Avenue near 104th Street. Man was identified as Joseph Lee Crawford, 33, of 2934 South Brighton Avenue, who was dead on arrival at the hospital. Police said Crawford was an innocent bystander.” From the Herald-Examiner collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.
Los Angeles, 1947 — A photo captures a “racial disturbance” at Fremont High School where white students protest the enrollment of six African-American girls. You can see a teacher confiscating a dummy effigy from a student.
Marijuana suspect held in Van Nuys jail. Los Angeles, 1951.
LAPD Officer F.G. Plamonden gapes at a marijuana plant in the Van Nuys jail. September 6, 1951. Photo by Glickman, Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961.
Anti-war protest, Los Angeles, 1968. Photo by Mel LeRoy: “Arriving inductees pass through cordon of police officers to enter induction center amid shouts of ‘don’t go’ from demonstrators.” Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
Gambling bust, Los Angeles, 1953: “Photo shows some of the 26 suspects seized in a raid on a basement gambling hall at 816 West Temple Street near City Hall. Suspects march out to the paddy wagon by uniformed officers after their elaborate fantan parlor was broke up by vice squad officers. Photo dated: March 12, 1953.” (Los Angeles Public Library)
@nytjim: “In LA gun buyback, someone turned in a rocket launcher.”
L.A. Confidential (1996)
Reporter: Captain Smith.
Dudley Smith: Drop the formalities, Bobby. It’s Christmas Eve, call me Dudley.
Reporter: I came up with a title for the story. I’m calling it “Silent Night with the LAPD.”
Dudley Smith: That’s grand. Now remember, Bobby, that’s “Smith.” With an “S.”
