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    Torrance Police Department
    Torrance Police Department
    Torrance Police Department
    Ebook197 pages1 hour

    Torrance Police Department

    By John Prins

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    About this ebook

    The Torrance Police Department dates to May 23, 1921, when city trustees appointed Ben Olsen as city marshal and, shortly thereafter, hired Byron Anderson as night watchman. The efforts of these men were devoted to dealing with thieves, keeping the peace, and "declaring war on speedsters." From such humble beginnings, the Torrance Police Department has grown into the fourth largest municipal law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County. Its position as the anchoring police force of the South Bay section of the county and its reputation as an innovator in crime fighting have been firmly established over time. Today, with a total of 242 sworn and 100 support personnel, the highly regarded Torrance Police Department serves more than 142,000 inhabitants in 21 square miles.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439634196
    Torrance Police Department
    Author

    John Prins

    Author John Prins, a 27-year member of the Torrance Police Department, drew on the force�s collection of vintage photographs to produce this tribute to one of Southern California�s finest crime-fighting units. Sergeant Prins has served the force in many capacities, including as a patrol officer, crime scene investigator, detective, background investigator, SWAT officer, and K-9 handler. He and his wife, Maria, also a city employee, reside in Torrance.

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      Book preview

      Torrance Police Department - John Prins

      book.

      INTRODUCTION

      The city of Torrance is located approximately 17 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles in a region known as the South Bay section of Los Angeles County. Torrance encompasses an area of approximately 21 square miles and has a population of 142,621 inhabitants, making it the 6th largest municipality in Los Angeles County and the 34th largest in the state of California. The city is bordered on the southwest by approximately one mile of Pacific Ocean beachfront, on the west by the city of Redondo Beach, on the north by the city of Lawndale, on the east by the cities of Gardena and Los Angeles (Harbor Gateway), on the southeast by the city of Lomita, and on the south by the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates.

      Torrance developed in the early 1900s as a planned garden-industrial community. The plan provided a balance between industrial, commercial, and residential uses. The city incorporated on May 12, 1921, one year after the death of its founder and namesake, Jared Sydney Torrance, with a land area of 3.8 square miles and a population of 1,800. Rapid growth occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, and the majority of the housing stock was built during those two decades. The city is now largely built out and has had a relatively stable population for the last two decades.

      The maintenance of law and order in the community prior to incorporation was the responsibility of the County of Los Angeles. During these early years, a constable from Lomita by the name of Ed Voris served in the capacity of night watchman for the Torrance community.

      The Torrance Police Department dates to May 23, 1921, when city trustees appointed Ben Olsen as the first city marshal and shortly thereafter hired Byron Anderson as night watchman. Their efforts were devoted to dealing with thieves, keeping the peace, and catching speeding motorists. For unknown reasons, Ben Olsen submitted his resignation as city marshal on December 13, 1921, yet chose to stay on as a member of the department. He was succeeded by night watchman Byron Anderson, who became city marshal/chief of police and served in that capacity until November 24, 1924.

      Lester Stanley was appointed motorcycle officer on January 16, 1923, followed by a second motorcycle officer, Stanley Abbott, later that same year. Chief Anderson was using his personal car to transport prisoners and complained about this to the city’s board of trustees, but it wasn’t until the middle of 1923 that an Essex car was purchased. William Phillips was appointed night watchman on May 14, 1923, and another night watchman by the name of I. Z. Thorpe was hired on June 2, 1924. Also in 1924, the first policeman’s ball was held in the Legion Hall.

      On November 10, 1924, Loren F. Patterson, an investigator with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, was appointed city marshal/chief of the department, staying on until May 5, 1926. Among other things, Chief Patterson and his police force rigidly enforced federal Prohibition laws.

      Chief Gerald M. Calder followed Patterson as chief of police and served the city in that capacity for over 12 years, until July 1, 1938. He would stay on as captain until April 1947.

      From these humble beginnings, the Torrance Police Department has grown into the fourth largest municipal law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County. Its position as the anchoring police force of the South Bay section of Los Angeles County and its reputation as an innovator in crime fighting have grown in time.

      Torrance City Marshals and Chiefs of Police:

      Ben Olsen (1921)

      Byron M. Anderson (1921–1924)

      Loren F. Patterson (1924–1926)

      Gerald M. Calder (1926–1938)

      John H. Stroh (1938–1954)

      Willard H. Haslam (1954–1956)

      Percy G. Bennett (1956–1964)

      Walter R. Koenig (1964–1970)

      Donald E. Nash (1970–1991)

      Joseph C. DeLadurantey (1991–1997)

      James D. Herren (1997–2006)

      John J. Neu (2006–present)

      Completed on July 3, 1923, a combination firehouse, police station, and city hall was built at 1521 Cravens Avenue. The brick building housed city hall on the top floor while the police and fire departments shared the bottom floor. It included a one-room steel-lattice jail cage with four cells. Each cell had two steel bunks. A number of Torrance citizens objected to the location of this early police station. It was felt that the jail would never get much use. In those early years, rabid dogs, wandering children and livestock, occasional thefts of chicken, and the moral threat of a proposed pool hall occupied the Torrance policeman’s mind.

      One

      THE EARLY YEARS 1921–1930

      Ben Olsen, seen in this 1929 image, made a salary of $150 a month. The city later purchased him a badge and handcuffs at a total cost of $12.50. A concrete garage near the firehouse on the north side of Carson Street between Andreo and Cabrillo Avenues was rented for $2.50 a month, made habitable, and served as the first city jail for approximately two

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