Customer Reviews

LAPD's Rogue Cops

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Here on Amazon this book is called "LAPD Rogue Cops: Black Dahlia Murder Case" leading me to believe this book was about the Dahlia case. But when the book arrived, I was surprised to see the title was actually "LAPD's Rogue Cops: Cover Ups and the Cookie Jar." This book is about LAPD corruption across a wide period of time with only two chapters (22 pages total) about the Black Dahlia. What's contained in these chapters is interesting (most of the information appears in the new book THE BLACK DAHLIA FILES by Donald H. Wolf) and I'm sure this book is a worthy read, but don't be fooled like I was into thinking this is a book just about the Black Dahlia case.

I was a little disappointed. The title 'L.A.P.D.'s Rogue Cops' suggested something far more sinister. Except for the part about the Black Dahlia case, there wasn't much that hadn't been covered in depth before by other authors.

The author really should have devoted an entire book to the Black Dahlia murder case, because the details he provides are so incredible, it makes the rest of the book seem dull in comparison. The rest of his true cop stories are interesting but not particularly shocking. Entire books have been written about the Chandler dynasty and their influence over the LAPD, and in fact, the author cites one of those books as a reference source, 'Billion Dollar Black Jack,' which is also worth reading if you have an interest in the history of modern Los Angeles.

My only disagreement with the author is his criticism of Chief William H. Parker. Vincent Carter suggests that Parker was an ineffective leader, and he writes about the positive changes that Daryl Gates brought to the job as LAPD's Chief of Police. I would respectfully disagree with the author. Chief Parker took over the LAPD at one of the lowest moments in the history of the department, after decades of corruption, bribery and disgraceful scandals, and he brought the LAPD and the City of Los Angeles through some turbulent and fast-changing times.