Tales from the Street - Operation Kamikaze

[DavidI]

It was the mid-1990s and Los Angeles was a warzone with gangsters. The crack epidemic turned good, hard-working people into shells of their former selves. Their bodies became emaciated, their teeth fell out, their personal hygiene was non-existent. Once hooked on the poison, nothing in life mattered more than the next hit. Women sold their bodies to do unthinkable things just to avoid going through the "dry" as they would call it. This is when their body goes through severe withdrawals and needs and craves the poison. Once you witness the depravity first-hand, you cannot un-see it. The high usually lasts only about 30 minutes, then the dope fiend has to find another "fix" which usually means stealing something, robbing someone, or "strawberrying."

There was one area where a particular dopeman hung out. He was the source for the area and frustrated me beyond belief because I witnessed the destruction he was causing in the neighborhood. He was street smart and cunning. He was careful and deliberate. He instilled fear in the neighborhood and exacted revenge with an iron fist or hot lead. I knew who he was and he knew who I was because I was doing everything in my power to catch him dirty. This cat and mouse game went on for months, with the mouse staying one step ahead of me. He was always "clean" and never held any dope or money himself. I knew there had to be a way to finally catch him.

The apartment complex he sold dope from was on a T-intersection, on the southwest corner. It was a very large apartment complex with hundreds of residents. He claimed to be the "king" of the apartments and "untouchable" because everyone was terrified of his wrath. This complex allowed full view of the comings and goings of both streets. He placed his people on the rooftops in both directions as lookouts equipped with "chirp radios" to alert him of police and/or rivals headed his way. Anytime a black and white drove his way, his dope slingers would run from the front of the complex toward the back area of the carports, which conveniently had the lights extinguished by gunfire.

I was contacted by a woman, I'll call her Martha, who lost her teenage daughter to Mr. Dopeman. She went from a straight A student with the world in the palm of her hand to a skeleton selling herself on the main drag. Her hair had fallen out in patches, she lost several teeth due to beatings, and had been stabbed when a "John" did not want to pay for services rendered. The woman was a single mom and told me she did not care what happened to her as a result of talking to me. Her love for her daughter outweighed her will to live.

Having grown up in this typed of environment myself in East Los Angeles, I was all too familiar with the feeling of despair and exasperation of the self-appointed dopeman ruling over a domain. One of my sisters was sucked into this lifestyle and was ultimately murdered when she was 17. That is a story for another time.

Martha told me that the dope crew that sells the dope in front of the complex uses a particular car as a stash place for their dope and guns. When the police patrolled the area, they would be "chirped" by the lookouts. Half of them would run to the car, put their junk in it and run to the back of the complex. The other half would remain outside the complex and run a different way to confuse the police. It was a brilliant plan of diversion and separation. Now I had to develop a plan to avoid the detention, get to the carport, place other officers at the back of the complex, and place others toward the front without being detected by lookouts or residents. After everyone was in place, I would send a couple black and whites to the front so the observation team could locate and capture the bad guy team.

A couple of my partners had previous military training and understood the principles of stealth and concealment. I put them on my team because we were going to be the contact team at the carports where it was most likely going to be hairy.

On a moonless Saturday night, we kicked off the plan. The observation teams parked our police cars several block away, well away from the complex. We dressed in olive drab and black to help conceal our trek to the locations. This is no easy task when you considered we were going through residential backyards, over fences, between houses, etc. because there were a lot of "friendlies" who would alert the bad guys that we were coming. We got chased by two pitbulls when we hopped the fence into their domain. They not only wanted a pound of flesh, but my whole butt! That scared the hell out of me and I was fortunate I could run fast...but the pitbulls were only doing their job of protecting its backyard! It took about 45 minutes to get in place, right under the noses of the lookouts with their night vision binos. My partner and I took point on top of the carport roof where the suspected stash car was located. Our hearts raced as the minutes seemed like hours, until the "moment."

After confirming everyone's position, I gave the order for the black and whites to roll into the front of the location with red lights and siren blaring. My partner and I would wait until the bad guys ran to the carport area and stashed their guns and dope inside the stash car, then we would drop down from the carport roof and detain them. Prior to doing this, we placed our neon vests identifying us as cops so the bad guys would know this was not a rip off and engage us in a gunfight at close range.

On my signal, "Operation Kamikaze" was initiated. The black and whites came roaring to the front with sirens screaming and the dope-peddling gangsters ran toward the carport where we were directly above them.

Plans never go as intended, and they are only good until first contact. Instead of the gangsters splitting in half, all of them (11 thugs) ran to the carport area. There were only two of us, but we had the element of surprise. I quickly alerted my team of the change and they began to head our way. My partner and I looked at each other, nodded because we knew the stakes, and jumped down in the midst of the gangster crowd. This was an earie moment because we did not know how this would play out. To my luck, I landed right next to Mr. Dopeman himself! He was never out in front of the complex, but he made a mistake this night. He had a Glock in his right hand, but I had Mr. Ithaca in my hands and my Beretta in my holster. My partner had his Beretta in his hand, and his Ithaca shotgun slung across his back.

It was an eternity as I looked into Mr. Dopeman's dark, dead eyes waiting for him to understand the predicament. I knew we were outgunned and outnumbered, but I had help coming a couple of minutes away. As he stared down the tube of my shotgun, I saw his shoulders relax and he dropped his pistol. My partner ordered all of them to lie on the ground, and they complied after Mr. Dopeman did so. We held them at gunpoint as a police helicopter orbited above us turning night into day and the rest of my team arrived.

I had picked the right partner. We went through the academy together, patrol, specialized teams, and Field Training Officer class. He was in the Army and I was a Marine. I trusted him with my life and he trusted me as well. In addition, he was one of the best combat shooters in the entire Department.

All in all, we recovered 9 pistols, 1 AK47, and a kilo of dope. All 11 gangsters went to jail and we used gang enhancement laws (STEP ACT) to increase their sentences. In court I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Dopeman and he told me he never thought we would be able to catch him. His countermeasures, escape plans, and layers of protection had worked for years. He never considered the lengths we would go through to plan an operation to lawfully take him into custody.

About 6 months later, Martha's daughter was found in a seedy motel room dead of an apparent overdose.

[Jeff Higgins]

David, I think I speak for all fellow Pelicans when I say that next time, you have our permission to just shoot him.

Alas, I wish it were that easy. The fact that you did not is what separates men like you from men like "dopeman". And, I'm afraid to admit, from men like me, 'cause I probably would have shot him. You are a better man than I, David.

So, I have to ask, even though I feel this is a somewhat rhetorical question - how long does a guy like this remain in prison? Up here, in my neighboring "big city" of Seattle (I live in the burbs half an hour north), these guys are very much part of a "catch and release" program. Guys like you catch them, DA's either do not charge, or judges hand down ridiculously lenient sentences. It has long since spiraled out of control up here. Guys like you are quitting in record numbers. I hope it's better down there, and your efforts are not ultimately for naught.

Oh, and - thank you.

[masraum]

Thanks for another "tale from the darkside."

Other than the last line (which was probably pretty likely) it was nice that this was a good story of Good totally crushing Evil.

Thanks for your service. My dad was a cop for several years before and after I was born. Then he went (back) into the Navy. I'm glad there are folks that want to perform the task of protecting the public. It's not a job that I think I'd have been well suited for.

[astrochex]

Thank-you, David, for the courage and skill of you and your team.

[A930Rocket]

Great read and thank you !

[Bugsinrugs]

Great story and I truly admire your bravery.

[fanaudical]

Wow - Thank you. I appreciate hearing first-hand what it takes "To Protect and to Serve" from somebody who truly knows what it means.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by DavidI

Mr. Dopeman and he told me he never thought we would be able to catch him. His countermeasures, escape plans, and layers of protection had worked for years. He never considered the lengths we would go through to plan an operation to lawfully take him into custody.

Classic case of complacency and underestimating the enemy.

Any plan in use for several years, is bound to become flawed and penetrated over time.

That's why prisons have such problems with inmates.. they have all the time in the world to think about how they can defeat the plan and all it's layers.

Time is what gets every criminal eventually, only those who stop , in time, can remain un defeated.. Greed prevents them from doing just that.

[E38Driver]

Another outstanding story David. I have said this before and will say it again you really need to write a book. When I read your stories I think of Harry Bosch and please take that as a complement.

Dave

[GH85Carrera]

Great story and great read. Thank you for helping cleaning up a tiny part of a big city.

[DavidI]

Thank you everyone. Some of the stories I have are very dark and seem "unreal" for the average Joe. The next one will be one of those.

Rock on, David

[svandamme]

recommend running em in the same thread. keep it all together so those interested can remain subscribed

[rusnak]

Definitely need to write a book!

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by rusnak

Definitely need to write a book!

Agreed. I would definitely buy at least one.

[techman1]

David, and all,

I might have mentioned in the past- I went on an overnight "Rede-Along" with the Orange County Sheriff in Florida. The world most of us never see that comes alive around 3:00 was very eye opening. If your local sheriff has this program, and you think you live in a quiet area...hah. Participate and wake up.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Great read as always, thank you for sharing and your service.

[DavidI]

Much appreciated brothers! It is a relief to write about some of the crazy stories. Some are very dark and I've held back.

Rock on, David

[DavidI]

Originally Posted by E38Driver

Another outstanding story David. I have said this before and will say it again you really need to write a book. When I read your stories I think of Harry Bosch and please take that as a complement.

Dave

Bosch is one of the few police shows that I watch because I identify with him. Although I have not been a gang detective in about 18 years though. My focus is tactics and shooting now and am the Subject Matter Expert for my Department. Bosch's technical advisors are outstanding!

[RWebb]

David do you have any stories re the before and after of that bank shooting where LAPD was outgunned by the robbers? The robbers had bullet 'proof' vests also. Sorry, but I don't recall the details.

[Drbraunsr]

I'm guessing the south central gang bangers and dope peddlers were happy when you promoted.
Thank you for your selfless service (from a Angelino). Once again, another great read.