I am in the process of writing a book based on a true account and a never before told insight into the hours leading up to, during, and after the Los Angeles riots erupted on April 29, 1992. The book shows, detail by detail, how close the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was to potentially changing the course of history.
The final outcome of the riots is well known after the initial verdicts were announced in the Rodney King trial and after the Los Angeles Police Department found it was totally unprepared to deal with this deadly and dynamic crisis. What is not known are the behind-the-scenes factors, issues, and decisions facing a Watch Commander from the nearby Lennox Sheriff’s Station while preparing a tactical response team to intervene at Florence and Normandie Avenue.
How law enforcement responds to and handles violent encounters continues to resonate with the entire country as incidents over the last few years have shown, such as the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland. Police and community relations, as well as the application of force by law enforcement, are and will always remain a hot topic. This will be discussed in my next posting.
As a retired Lieutenant and 32-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Bill Weiss worked various patrol, custody, administrative, and special assignments. He has been an Incident Commander for several major tactical incidents. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, with a Master’s degree in Public Administration.
wow, awesome post.Really thank you! Great. Shalonda