Tales from Los Angeles - "Salami"

[DavidI]

“Salami”
Working with a partner is very similar to being married. There is a shared mutual respect, bickering, laughing and joking. However, each partner is willing to kill or die for each other at any given moment. Both of us are married and the best way to describe the relationship is to watch “End of Watch” as the partners interact in the police car as they work the streets. My partner for about two years and I started our careers on the same day in the academy. We did not know each other, but we had a great deal of similarities…and differences. He was Irish and grew up in a very solid, loving household in a affluent suburban neighborhood. His father was a peace officer for the same Department we worked for and was a living legend. He was a Firearms Instructor and one of the best shots in the County. Jeff loved to pursue “tweekers” which are meth addicts.

I grew up in a gangster household. My father, mother, cousins, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters were active gang members. I lived in foster homes for several years while my biological father and mother were in prison. I understood the gangster lifestyle and although immersed in it, saw that there are only two retirement plans…prison or death. I involved myself in boxing, school work, and hanging out with like-minded kids like myself. East Los Angeles is where we called home from my great grandparents on. I escaped by joining the Marine Corps where we were all treated equally!

Jeff and I were physically different as well. He was 6’02”/240 pounds of solid muscle, a weightlifter with a passion for policework. He had been born into this career. He could shoot like a crack shot because his father taught him starting at an early age. He served in the Army prior to applying to the job. I am 5’06”/175 pounds and full of energy. Having served in the Marine Corps, I was an expert shot with a rifle and expert with a handgun; however, there are different levels of “expert” and Jeff was a “different level.” I am a fighter since the age of eight and have since earned a black belt in JKD and a purple belt in BJJ. My passion was fighting.

On one particular night, we were working as partners and I was driving; the driver decides where to patrol to proactively seek criminals. When I drove, we mostly patrolled the gang infested areas. When Jeff drove, we patrolled the “tweeker” areas. We were working a PM shift and scheduled to get off work at midnight. He was insistent that we get off on time this particular night if possible because he and his wife had plans in the morning. We also had an agreement that if one of us saw something that we “had to investigate” that rule did not apply.

As I drove through the area approximately five minutes before the end of our shift, I saw a “veterano” (older high-ranking Hispanic gangster) driving a car without the headlights on. This provided me the right to pull him over and warn/advise him of the CVC violation. We were going opposite directions and he gave me the “oh ****” look. It also allowed me to talked to him. For those of you questioning this, research “pre-meditated traffic stops.”

I flipped a ***** and pulled behind him. I told Jeff to get ready for a pursuit because this gangster looked like a “legit player.” When we pulled him over, he was calm and cool as a cucumber. I was very surprised at how calm he was! I asked him for his driver’s license, but he did not have it on him. I asked him to exit his car, a 1990s Honda Civic which happened to be the most frequently stolen car at the time. He calmly exited and I saw that he was “blasted with tattoos.” They were on his neck, arms, chest, hands, etc. The color and type immediately registered to me that they were tattoos from prison based on the color and type of ink used and the artwork. There were prison gun towers, clocks, “smile now-cry later masks”, and most importantly a wicked skull with a bandana over its face pointed a revolver toward the observer. This particular one indicated the gangster made his living through robberies. Remember, I grew up in this lifestyle and had testified and an expert in court regarding gangs. Most gangsters are proud of their tattoos and his artwork was expertly done. This also indicated he was a “somebody” inside prison. I asked if I could see the tattoos on his chest and back because I was impressed with the prison. A little flattery goes a long way. He proudly took off his shirt (it was summertime and very warm) and I had hit the jackpot. The name “Rodriguez” was tattooed across his stomach. “Salami” was tattooed on his forearm and “Maria” was tattooed on his forearm. Also, there was an “open black hand tattoo” emblazoned on his chest. This particular one alarmed me because it indicated that he is a validated member of the most brutal prison gang in the country, the “Mexican Mafia.” Red bells and alarms sounded in my head, but my partner did not have a clue as to the danger level we had encountered. This man was a killer and was willing to kill at any given time. Jeff saw me tense up and my demeanor slightly change and moved closer in anticipation of action. We had been partners for a few years and we could read each other. I asked “Salami” to sit in the back seat of our police car so I could confirm his identity because he did not have one on him. He gave me a name with the last name “Cano.” Again, red bells and alarms went off in my head because Hispanic gangsters typically tattoo their last name on their stomachs or backs, in his case it was “Rodriguez.” I entered his name into the police computer and to my surprise, all of his information checked out! I looked in the mirror at his face and I saw the look of calmness! How can this be? I knew I was right!

After a couple of minutes, a woman drove up in a separate car and parked across the street from us. She waived to get my attention, so I walked over to her to speak to her.

[DavidI]

She told me the man in the back seat of my police car was her husband! I asked her what her name was and she replied, “Maria” which matched the name tattooed on his forearm. News travels like wildfire in the gangster community! This was the mid-nineties and only drug dealers and rich people had cell phones. I knew he did not have one because I had searched him. The windows of my police car were rolled up, so there was no way he could have told her anything or given her any messages. She told me his name, which was the same as the one he provided. She offered to go to their nearby home and retrieve his Cal Id. I immediately agreed thinking this would prove my belief.

She left the scene and I walked back to “Salami” to gather more information. I asked him why he had “Rodriguez” tattooed across his stomach and he replied he was raised by an aunt and that was her last name so he decided she was more of a mother to him than his biological mother. This somewhat made sense and all of the information was falling into place. After about 10 minutes, Maria returned with “Salami’s” California ID Card which was a legitimate card with all the correct information provided by both “Salami” and Maria. I ran “Salami’s” criminal history and found that he had never been arrested. This was completely opposite of what his tattoos told me!

I discussed the situation with my partner and he told me that everything checked out and we should let “Salami” go. Every fiber within me told me that it was all false, but the apparent facts supported everything I was told and presented. Because “Salami” had been driving without a license and I could not confirm his identity at that particular time, the law gave me the opportunity to detain him, take him to the station and fingerprint him to confirm his identity. I told Jeff that was what I was going to do because based on my gang expertise, I knew he was lying. Jeff was pissed because it was now about 1:00am and we would not be off until after 3:00am. Based on our strong relationship and trust in one another, he agreed.

Off to the station we went and while driving “Salami” told me over and over that I was wasting my time. He was so confident and calm it was jarring. At the station, I had to convince the Watch Commander that my detention was lawful and correct. She was very hesitant to approve it, but I had a solid reputation and my word was gold. She hesitantly agreed and I hard fingerprinted “Salami” and photographed his tattoos. Again, he was not alarmed at all! After writing the reports, we left the station exhausted. Jeff was upset with me because he was going to get the wrath from his wife. I told him to blame it all on me. I knew her very well and she knew how persistent and tenacious I am. The hard fingerprints would be sent to our fingerprint experts to obtain a positive identification on “Salami.” I knew I had him and walked out of the station confident!
The next day I went into work early anticipating the results from the hard fingerprints indicating the true identity of “Salami.” I met with the jailer who told me that “Salami’s record came back and his California ID had checked out. He had no arrest record! I was floored!!!

I immediately went into our gang detective’s office to search for any files associating “Salami”, “Rodriguez”, and “Maria”, and the various tattoos he had on his body. I found a Field Identification Card of a name closely matching “Salami” from the particular gang this eMe member had been a member. The card was several years old and did not have any additional information. Undeterred, I took the card and the hard fingerprint card and went to the official office that is the repository for criminal records. I met with one of the technicians and explained the situation. She looked at me like I was crazy, but agreed to help. She ran “Salami’s” real name through every database known and found a digital photograph of him from about 15 years prior. I was looking into the face of a killer as his digital photograph sneered at me. He was cocky in his booking photograph and a younger version of himself. She became excited and took it to another level and work hard and diligently to reveal that Salome was wanted for several shootings, parole violation, extortion, and a murder! I was dumbfounded as to how he was able to create a new identification for himself complete with fingerprints!

I made an appointment with the top fingerprint examiner to compare my hard fingerprints to the database fingerprints. Initially he was very hesitant to meet with me because he had never seen an anomaly where a fingerprint was not matched. I again explained the circumstances and he reluctantly agreed to help me. He retrieved ALL the fingerprints taken from “Salami” over the course of his four-decade life at the time and printed all of them out. One-by-one, he examined each one comparing them to my hard prints. Each of the digital ones had apparently been altered in the system to make it unrecognizable to the automated system! He and I stood in silence and disbelief. This monster had somehow had someone from the “inside” alter the official database and then created a new identity for himself. Both of us confirmed it was a complete match! I contacted our Major Crimes Unit and they confirmed they were working an investigation in which someone was altering database fingerprints and creating new identifications.

Now the hunt was on. I painstakingly wrote a search warrant for “Salami’s” residence, cars, work, associates, and such. It was a Probable Cause Declaration of over twenty pages, almost unheard of for a street cop operation. I met with the judge to swear in and attest to the search warrant. He could not believe that I had gone to such a great effort for one single arrest. This was during the typewriter era and computers were not available to us at the time. To me, it was not a single arrest. It was the arrest of a violent, dangerous, predatory man. The judge signed it and now I had to come up with a plan to safely take him into custody.

[DavidI]

From an informant, I found that he was visiting a friend at a local automotive shop. I asked a female informant to call the shop and ask for the friend. Prior to the call, I had countless peace officers surround the location and staged a helicopter and K-9 officer nearby. We were going after the devil; he had killed before and would do so again. The female placed the call under our close supervision asking him to meet her in front of the location for some “affection.” When he casually walked out, I was there waiting for him with my best friends, Smith and Wesson. He looked at me with recognition and I saw his shoulders sink…only momentarily before he regained his composure. I and my team approached him and I put the cuffs on him without incident. I walked him to the police car to take him to the police station. We laughed and joked as we walked. He told me that he knew from the moment I began my questioning that I would pursue him until the wheels fell off. He was right…I never quit when I sink my teeth in to such a dangerous monster.

He still sits in prison and most likely will never see freedom again.

As far as the database manipulation, an inquiry was initiated but I never learned the final results. There was somebody “inside the system” working with these criminals and creating new identities.

With my partner Jeff, he could not believe that my intuition paid off. His wife forgave me and he has told this and many other stories as he progressed in his career as a Drill Instructor at our Academy. Twenty years after the incident, I meet peace officers who tell me stories about myself when I worked the streets and I just laugh. I don't know if I was crazy or stupid!!!

[masraum]

OK, I guess I needed to refresh. I still want to know what happened with the database thing!

[dan79brooklyn]

Wow! Great story. Sounds like it could be made into a movie.

[rusnak]

Thrilling story !!

"I gots to know!" What happened to the guy inside? He was selling new identities. That seems like a much bigger deal to me.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by rusnak

Thrilling story !!

"I gots to know!" What happened to the guy inside? He was selling new identities. That seems like a much bigger deal to me.

Me too.

[Seahawk]

Great story...

[WPOZZZ]

Great story, David! From the title, I thought you guys might have been in the San Fernando valley and stumbled onto a film set.

[DavidI]

The "inside person" investigation was completed by the DOJ and they were unwilling to share their findings. I have no idea who the person was or how many were involved. It used to bother me that they would not give me any additional details, but now it is so long ago it does not matter to me anymore.

Rock on!

[GH85Carrera]

It does sound like so many movies and TV shows where the inside man is usually the police Commissioner or the Mayor. Hopefully they did successfully shut down the database alterations.

Of course in the movies we all get to see the bad guy get justice in the end.

It is great your gut told you something was not right and you insisted it be double and tripple checked. Cool story of justice in the end. Thanks for telling the stories.

[Bugsinrugs]

Love reading your stories. I would buy your book.

[astrochex]

Another great story. Thank God for intuition and determination.

[Tobra]

Sort of a are you going to believe your lying eyes or the liar standing in front of you kind of deal

[Zeke]

Takes a lot of 'street smarts' to be a cop. At least a good one. I used to know a couple that knew their beat as well as anything. I kinda stay away anymore.

[G60SuperCharger]

Thanks for these stories David. I've gone back and read all your previous. Please keep them coming!

[Drbraunsr]

Growing up in a gangster environment provides an instinct you can't learn from a book (or academy). It's like common sense, you either have it or you don't.
Coupling this story with your earlier ones, you've got mad street smarts and people skills.

Another great read....

[onewhippedpuppy]

Great read, keep them coming!

[daepp]

David - I really appreciate these stories and insights - thanks for sharing. I would encourage you to continue, both for my prurient interest AND because I'm guessing there's some catharsis in it for you.

[G60SuperCharger]

DavidI...we are long overdue for another installment! Pretty please?