Category Archives: Articles Written by Scott Reitz

In 1977 as a probationary Officer I was assigned to Wilshire Division. My partner was Tom Garvin, a 17 year plus, LAPD veteran. Tom was African-American and he had been a USMC drill instructor (harder than Woodpecker lips) which tells… Continue reading →

By: Scott Reitz You know you’re getting long in the tooth when the son of your former partner shows up with a few years on the job. The accompanying photo is of Mike Coblenz who I went through the Academy… Continue reading →

By Scott Reitz If you are involved in a shooting any and everything you have ever said, done, written or posted via the internet is subject to disclosure. This is far from an insignificant fact. One of the very first… Continue reading →

By Scott Reitz Time changes everything. This can be both a good and bad thing. Joining the LAPD in 1976 was not an easy proposition. There were lines stretching for blocks at the various high schools throughout L.A. for prospective… Continue reading →

By Scott Reitz In SWAT not everything goes as planned. “The best laid plans of mice and men” is more than an appropriate concept in this story. We had just started to use the Kerie cutting cable which consisted of… Continue reading →

I stumbled across an old episode of Dragnet the other day. ‘The Shooting Review Board’ first aired on September 21, 1967 and boy was it a beauty. It falls right in line with what interests many of you, and that… Continue reading →

Combating random terrorist acts is challenging. Unfortunately the events in France are likely a foreshadowing of the future world situation. The guys who conducted the raid outside Charles de Gaulle airport were members of the prestigious GIGN, a group we… Continue reading →

I will soon return to police work in this column, but while I still remember them there are some events which shaped me prior to the ‘force.’ I was a Naval Midshipman at UNM (University of New Mexico). This meant… Continue reading →