Daryl Francis Gates (born Darrel Francis Gates; August 30, 1926 – April 16, 2010) was an American police officer who served as
chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
The Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department is the Chief of police, head and senior-most officer to serve in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The incumbent manages the day-to-day operations of the LAPD and is usually held by a four ...
from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only to that of
William H. Parker. Gates is credited with the creation of
SWAT teams alongside fellow
Los Angeles Police Department
The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
(LAPD) officer
John Nelson, who others claim was the originator of SWAT in 1965. Gates also co-founded the
Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
After the arrest of
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was a Black American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by Police officer, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high spe ...
and the
subsequent riots, Gates resigned from the LAPD. Much of the blame for the riots was attributed to him. According to one study, "scandalous racist violence... marked the
LAPD under Gates's tempestuous leadership."
Early life and education
Gates was born in Glendale, California, to a
Mormon mother and a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
father on August 30, 1926; he was raised in his mother's faith. He grew up in
Glendale and
Highland Park, in the northeastern part of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
affected his early life: his father was an
alcoholic, and frequently ended up in the custody of the Glendale police.
(Later in life, Gates often remarked on the taunts and harassment he received from schoolmates because of his father's behavior.) Gates later wrote that he had a low opinion of the police due to their rough treatment of his father, and at age 16 Gates himself was arrested after punching an officer who manhandled his brother during a parking dispute (Gates apologized and the charges were dropped).
Gates graduated from
Franklin High School in Highland Park and joined the
U.S. Navy in time to see action in the
Pacific Theater during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After leaving the U.S. Navy, he attended
Pasadena City College and married his first wife, Wanda Hawkins. He went on to take pre-law classes at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
. After his wife became pregnant, a friend suggested that he join the LAPD, which was conducting a recruitment drive among former servicemen; Gates initially declined, then decided it was a good opportunity. Gates later finished his degree at USC.
Career
Gates joined the LAPD on September 16, 1949. Among his roles as an officer, he was picked to be the chauffeur for Chief
William H. Parker. Gates often remarked that he gained many administrative and professional insights from Parker during the hours they spent together each day.
Gates worked hard to prepare for his promotional exams, scoring first in the
sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
's exam and in every promotional exam thereafter. On his promotion to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
, he rejoined Chief Parker as Parker's executive officer. He was promoted to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
, responsible for intelligence. By the time of the
Watts riots
The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion or Watts Uprising, took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. The riots were motivated by anger at the racist and abus ...
in 1965 he was an
inspector
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Australia
The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
(overseeing the investigations of, among other crimes, the
Manson Family murders and the
Hillside Strangler case). By the time of the 1975 special investigation into the
assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles), Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and pronounced dead the following day.
Kennedy, a United States senator and candidate in the 19 ...
he was Assistant Chief of the department.
On March 28, 1978, Gates became the 49th chief of the department.
SWAT
Gates established the specialized unit that became known as
SWAT
A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations.
SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
(originally, "Special Weapons Attack Team" but changed to "...And Tactics" for optics) in order to deal with hostage rescue and extreme situations involving armed and dangerous suspects. Ordinary street officers, with light armament, limited weapons training and little instruction on group fighting techniques, had shown to be ineffective in dealing with snipers, bank robberies carried out by heavily armed persons, and other high-intensity situations. In 1965, Officer
John Nelson came up with an idea to form a specially trained and equipped unit to respond to and manage critical situations while minimizing police casualties.
As an inspector, Gates approved this idea. He formed a small select group of volunteer officers. His first team was born LAPD SWAT, D-Platoon of the Metro Division. This unit initially comprised fifteen teams of four men each, for a total staff of sixty. These officers were given special status and benefits, but in return they had to attend monthly trainings and serve as security for police facilities during episodes of civil unrest. SWAT was copied almost immediately by many US police departments and is now used by law enforcement agencies throughout the world.
In Gates' autobiography, ''Chief: My Life in the LAPD'' (
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...
, 1992), he explained that he developed neither SWAT tactics nor its distinctive equipment. He wrote that he supported the concept, tried to empower his people to develop the concept, and lent them moral support.
PDID
Gates made substantial use of the LAPD's
Public Disorder Intelligence Division (PDID) squad, even developing an international spying operation.
[ David Cay Johnston, '' AlterNet'', 20 April 2010]
Daryl Gates, the Ruthless L.A. Police Chief Who Ran an International Spying Operation on the Side
/ref> The lawsuit ''CAPA v. Gates'', with the Coalition Against Police Abuse (CAPA) as one of two dozen or so plaintiffs, later sued the LAPD on First Amendment grounds that exposed the unlawful harassment, surveillance, and infiltration of the progressive movement in Los Angeles by LAPD agents. The lawsuit against Gates and the LAPD proved successful. The PDID was ordered to disband and did so in January 1983. In February 1984, an out-of-court settlement awarded $1.8 million to the named plaintiffs, individuals, and organizations who had sued the City of Los Angeles.
D.A.R.E.
In collaboration with the Rotary Club
Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...
of Los Angeles, Gates founded D.A.R.E, a backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, a program designed to educate students and children about the dangers of drug abuse. DARE has become a worldwide organization, with programs in schools across the globe. However, despite the program's wide use, peer-reviewed government-sponsored scientific research has discredited DARE's claimed effectiveness in reducing alcohol or drug use, and the program has seen a 73% reduction in taxpayer funding as a result.
CRASH
Gates's appointment as chief roughly coincided with the intensification of the War on Drugs. A drug-related issue that had also come to the forefront at the time was gang
A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...
violence, which paralyzed many of the neighborhoods (primarily impoverished and black or Hispanic) in which gangs held sway. In response, the LAPD set up specialist gang units which gathered intelligence on and ran operations against gangs. These units were called Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH). Allegations of false arrest and a general LAPD disdain for young Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
and Latino men were made.
Gates himself became a byword among some for excessive use of force by anti-gang units and became a favorite lyrical target for gang-connected urban black rappers, notably Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
. Nevertheless, CRASH's approach appeared successful and remained in widespread use until the Rampart Division scandal of 1999 drew attention to abuses that threatened to undo hundreds of criminal convictions.
Force enlargement
Gates became LAPD chief a little over two months before the enactment of California's Proposition 13, during a time of tremendous change in California politics. While the LAPD traditionally had been a "lean and mean" department compared with other American police forces (a point of pride for Parker), traffic congestion and continually decreasing officer-to-resident ratios (approximately 7,000 police officers for 3 million residents in 1978) diminished the effectiveness of LAPD's prized mobility. Gates was eager to take more recruits, particularly for CRASH units, when the city made funds available.
Gates later claimed that many officers recruited in the 1980s—a period in which the LAPD was subject to a consent decree
A consent decree is an agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt (in a criminal case) or liability (in a civil case). Most often it is such a type of settlement in the United States. The ...
which set minimum quotas for hiring of women and minorities—were substandard, remarking:
... you don't have all of those quotas, you can't hire all the people you need. So, you've got to make all of those quotas. And when that happens, you get somebody who is on the borderline, you'd say "Yes, he's black, or he's Hispanic, or it's a female, but we want to bring in these additional people when we have the opportunity. So, we'll err on the side of, 'We'll take them and hope it works out. And we made some mistakes. No question about it, we have made some mistakes.
Special Order 40
In 1979 Gates helped craft and implement Special Order 40, a mandate that prohibits police officers from stopping people for the sole purpose of obtaining immigration status. The mandate was created in an effort to encourage residents to report crimes without the fear of intimidation or deportation.
Administrative style and personality
Like his mentor Parker, Gates publicly questioned the effectiveness of community policing, usually electing not to work with community activists and prominent persons in communities in which the LAPD was conducting major anti-gang operations. At the time of the Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was a Black American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by Police officer, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high spe ...
beating, Gates was at a community policing conference. This tendency, a logical extension of the policies implemented by Parker that discouraged LAPD officers from becoming too enmeshed in the communities in which they served, did not serve him well politically: allegations of arrogance and racism plagued the department throughout his tenure, surfacing most strongly in the Christopher Commission report.
Operation Hammer
Many commentators criticized Gates for Operation Hammer, a policing operation conducted by the LAPD in South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown.
It is de ...
. After eight people were murdered at a birthday party in a drive-by shooting in 1987, Gates responded with an extremely aggressive sweep of South Los Angeles that involved 1,000 officers at any given time.
The operation lasted several years, with multiple sweeps, and resulted in over 25,000 arrests. This was not unprecedented: during the run-up to the 1984 Olympic Games, Mayor Tom Bradley empowered Gates to take all of the city's gang members—known and suspected—into custody, where they remained until shortly after the Games' conclusion. In the years after the Olympic games Gates, Mayor Bradley and city council officials found a way to continue the sweeping policies initially meant for the duration of the Olympic games by reviving old, anti-syndicalist laws, to jail predominantly black and Latino youth, even though the overwhelming numbers of people arrested were never charged.
As a vast majority of those arrested were never charged, Operation Hammer was roundly criticized as a harassment operation whose chief goal was to intimidate young black and Hispanic men. In a PBS interview, when asked whether the local people in the minority areas expressed thanks to the police for their actions, Gates responded:
A similar operation was conducted in 1988 after a drive-by shooting took the life of Karen Toshima in Westwood Village.
Rodney King and the Los Angeles riots
On March 3, 1991, Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was a Black American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by Police officer, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high spe ...
was arrested, repeatedly struck with batons and kicked, and taken into custody by LAPD officers after a car chase. A bystander, George Holliday, recorded the event on videotape. Gates and his department faced strong criticism in the aftermath of the arrest; Mayor Tom Bradley also called for Gates to resign, but he refused, leading to a stand-off between Gates and the mayor. The Christopher Commission report, issued July 10, 1991, identified a police culture of excessive force and poor supervision, and recommended numerous reforms, as well as Gates's removal. Gates announced his intention to resign on July 13, 1991.
The 1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...
on April 29, 1992, began when a Ventura County jury in Simi Valley acquitted three white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
and one Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a high-speed pursuit.
Despite the announcement that the jury was preparing to deliver the verdict in the case, the LAPD day shift was sent home. After the riots broke out, Gates told reporters that the situation would soon be under control and left Parker Center to attend a previously scheduled political fundraising dinner. The fundraising event was part of an effort to fight a city charter amendment on the June 2 ballot that would limit the power and term of the police chief. These actions led to charges that Gates was out of touch. General command-and-control failings in the entire LAPD hierarchy during the riots led to criticisms that he was incapable of managing the force. It took the arrival of 10,000 California Army National Guard
The California Army National Guard (CA ARNG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Army, and part of the United States National Guard, National Guard of the United States. The California Army ...
forces, 3,500 federal troops, and 1,000 federal law enforcement officers to end the unrest over the next six days.
In the aftermath of the riots, local and national media printed and aired dozens of reports deeply critical of the LAPD under Gates, painting it as an army of racist beat cops accountable only to an arrogant leadership. The paramilitary approach that Gates represented resulted in criticism and calls for the LAPD to shift to a community policing strategy.
Gates left the LAPD on June 28, 1992, and was replaced by Willie L. Williams, who had been named Gates's successor on April 16, 1992. A second commission, the Webster Commission, headed by former FBI and CIA Director William H. Webster, was formed in the wake of the riots. Its report, released on October 21, 1992, was generally considered to be scathingly critical of the department (as well as other government agencies) and was especially critical of Gates' management of it.
Ig Nobel
In 1992, the satiric Ig Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Daryl Gates "for his uniquely compelling methods of bringing people together."
Controversial rhetoric
Gates earned notoriety for his controversial rhetoric on many occasions. Some of the most notable examples of this were:
* His testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that infrequent or casual drug users "ought to be taken out and shot" because "we're in a war" and even casual drug use is "treason". He later said the testimony was calculated hyperbole.
* In 1982, Gates said that "blacks might be more likely to die from chokeholds because their arteries do not open as fast as they do in 'normal people. This comment led to calls by the Urban League
The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...
for his suspension. Gates apologized but refused to retract the comment. In his autobiography, Gates said that he had been misinterpreted and meant that black people were more predisposed to vascular conditions and therefore less likely to have normally functioning arteries.
Later work
Gates remained professionally active after leaving the LAPD, working with Sierra to create the computer game '' Police Quest: Open Season'', an adventure game set in Los Angeles where gamers play the role of a Robbery/Homicide detective trying to solve a series of brutal murders. He appears in the game as Chief of Police and can be found on one of the top floors of Parker Center. In addition, Gates had been the principal consultant for Sierra's ''SWAT
A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations.
SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
'' series, appearing in them as well. In 1993, Gates was a talk show host on KFI, replacing Tom Leykis. His tenure was short lived, but he remained a frequent guest on talk radio, especially in regard to policing issues.
Businessman
Gates was President/CEO of Global ePoint, a security and homeland defense company dealing primarily in digital surveillance and security technology. He also served on the Advisory Board of PropertyRoom.com, a website for police auctions.
Autobiography
In 1992 he published ''Chief: My Life in the LAPD'', an autobiography, written with the assistance of Diane K. Shah (Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...
). The book has details about Gates's career and high-profile cases; the book went to press before the L.A. riots.
Later years
After Bernard Parks was denied a second term as Chief of Police by Mayor James K. Hahn in 2002, Gates, aged 75, told CNN that he intended to apply for his old job as LAPD chief. Hahn ultimately appointed William J. Bratton, a former police commissioner of Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, to head the department.
Death
On April 16, 2010, Gates died at his home in Dana Point, California, at the age of 83 due to complications from bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...
.
In popular culture
Gates appeared as himself in season 7, episode 13 ("Fatal Obsession, Part 2") of the television show ''Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
''.
Gates appears in an uncredited role at the end of the 1997 film '' L.A. Confidential'' as a police officer congratulating Ed Exley, the main character.
In the 1998 film '' American History X'', he is mentioned in relation to the application of police brutality to Rodney King.
Gene Hackman based his portrayal of Sheriff Daggett on Gates in the 1992 film ''Unforgiven
''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
''. Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
biographer Richard Schickel, who was on the set, wrote that Hackman referred to Daggett overseeing Ned Logan's torture as "my Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was a Black American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by Police officer, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high spe ...
scene".
In 2004, he appeared in the second season of '' Da Ali G Show'' in the episode "Respek".
Gates is portrayed by actor Josh Pence in the 2013 film '' Gangster Squad''. In the film, Gates is in his younger years, still a chauffeur for LAPD Police Chief Bill Parker (played by Nick Nolte).
Gates was mentioned in a large number of rap and metal songs in the aftermath of the LA riots. Some of the more notable include Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
's "The Wrong Nigga to Fuck With", which includes a verse that imagines that Gates is decapitated and fried like a chicken, and Body Count's " Cop Killer", which caused widespread controversy.
Gates appears as a major character in James Ellroy's novel ''The Enchanters''.
See also
* Joel Wachs, Los Angeles City Council member who paved the way for Gates's resignation
* Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles City Council member (1974–1994) who sought information on the LAPD's intelligence-gathering activities
References
Further reading
* Alonso, Alex (2010), "Out of the Void: Street Gangs in Black Los Angeles" in ''Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities,'' (Eds) Darnell Hunt and Ana-Christina Ramon, New York University: New York.
*
*Cannon, Lou (1998), ''Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD'', Crown.
*Corwin, Miles (1998), ''The Killing Season : A Summer Inside an LAPD Homicide Division'' Fawcett.
*Domanick, Joe (1994), ''To Protect and to Serve: The LAPD's Century of War in the City of Dreams'', New York: Pocket Books.
*Gates, Daryl F. (1992), ''Chief: My Life in the LAPD''. New York: Bantam.
*Koon, Stacey (1992), ''Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair'', Regnery Publishing.
*Starr, Kevin (2004), ''Coast of Dreams: California on the Edge, 1990–2003'', New York: Knopf.
External links
* Retrieved on 2008-01-24
Daryl Gates speech on drugs
at the LAPD Medal of Valor ceremony, 1990
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Daryl
1926 births
2010 deaths
Chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department
Deaths from bladder cancer in California
Franklin High School (Los Angeles) alumni
Ig Nobel laureates
Latter Day Saints from California
Military personnel from California
Obscenity controversies
People from Dana Point, California
People from Glendale, California
*
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy sailors
University of Southern California alumni