L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City

Soon after Stoker’s: Stoker, Thicker’N Thieves, 181-85, 187-90.

So Stoker agreed to: Stoker’s account of this meeting (186-88) and indeed this period is intensely controversial. Parker himself would later completely disavow Stoker’s account of events, even claiming by late 1949 that Sgt. Elmer Jackson’s involvement with Brenda Allen was in fact a frame-up. Yet certain parts of Stoker’s account ring true. First, the evidence against Sergeant Jackson (though not the chief himself) seems strong. Second, the picture of Parker Stoker presents has notable similarities to that presented by Fred Otash, another maverick LAPD officer, in his book, Investigation Hollywood!. Other figures who knew Parker well likewise believe that he was prepared to use the kinds of extreme tactics described by Stoker to become chief.

On May 31, 1949: Woods, “The Progressives and the Police,” 407.

There was also the: “CONVICT DESCRIBES KILLING BY L.A. COP: Slaying of ‘Peewee’ Lewis Described at San Quentin,” Los Angeles Daily News, June 7, 1949.

The revelations streamed forth: Woods, “The Progressives and the Police,” 407.

Just when a narrative: Audre Davis’s later arrest certainly doesn’t bolster her credibility. Nonetheless, historian Gerald Woods insists that prosecutors had developed “a strong circumstantial case against [Stoker].” The county grand jury thought otherwise; it declined to convict Stoker. See also, “Policewoman Implicates Sgt. Stoker in Burglary Love for Vice Squad Man Admitted by Audrey [sic] Davis,” Los Angeles Times, July 3, 1949.

At first, Mayor Bowron: “Police Commission Commends Horrall: Full Confidence in Chief and Staff Expressed in Written Statement,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 1947. One month later, on July 27, Chief Horrall, Asst. Chief Joe Reed, and Capt. Cecil Wisdom were indicted for perjury. Sergeant Jackson and Lieutenant Wellpott were also indicted on perjury and for accepting bribes. However, none of the men were ultimately convicted. In retrospect, the case against Chief Horrall, who was known for his strikingly hands-off management style, seems weakest. He was almost surely innocent. As for Sergeant Jackson and his associates, the most accurate verdict would be “not proven.” Woods, “The Progressive and the Police,” 408.

Faced with a public: See Benis Frank, interviewer, “Oral History Transcript: General William Worton,” 307.

Chapter Thirteen: Internal Affairs

“I’ll be damned if…”: See Benis Frank, interviewer, “Oral History Transcript: General William Worton,” 310.

Like other departments, the: Chief Davis eventually handed over a list of 7,800 people who’d received badges. It included such luminaries as Shirley Temple (a Davis favorite), King Vidor, Louis B. Mayer, and Bela Lugosi. Larry Harnisch, “Mayor Investigates Honorary L.A.P.D. Badges,” October 28, 1938, Daily Mirror blog, accessed October 28, 2008.

The primary purpose of: See Benis Frank, interviewer, “Oral History Transcript: General William Worton,” 309.

To Sgt. Charles Stoker: Stoker, Thicker’N Thieves, 222; “New Police Chief on Job, to tell Program in Week,” Los Angeles Times, July 1, 1949, 1; Daryl Gates, Chief, 15.

It was, thought Gates: Author interview with Daryl Gates, December 10, 2004.

That Bill Parker was: “Chief Names Staff Inspector in Top Level Police Changes: Parker Given Number Two Post,” Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1949, 1.

For decades, vice and: “Police Shift Offices Due to City Hall Jam,” Los Angeles Times, August 19, 1949, 2.

General Worton and his: Woods, “The Progressives and the Police,” 40910; “Ex-Marine Tightened Up Los Angeles Police,” Chicago Sun-Times, March 12, 1952.

General Worton was also: “Novice Chief Brings New Confidence …,” San Francisco Call-Bulletin, May 10, 1995.

“He would be”: Author interview with Bob Rock, December 10, 2004, Los Angeles, CA.

Parker moved decisively too: “Police Officer Keyes Resigns Under Attack,” Los Angeles Times, July 26, 1942.

“Well then go fuck …”: “‘Innocent’ in Cussing, Says Mickey Cohen,” Los Angeles Mirror, August 31, 1949.

Within weeks, his name: Server, Baby, I Don’t Care, 166, 203-204. See also “Americana,” Time, January 31, 1949. Mitchum’s conviction on drug possession charges was overturned in 1951, which suggests that the accusations against Mickey may well have been true.