“A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.”
You may recall this line comes from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera “Pirates of Penzance.”
This week we’re going to look at some of the interesting incidents our policemen took part in and how some turned into something more unexpected.
The oil boom was in full swing in our town by 1922 as Police Chief Jack Tinsley was trying to uphold law and order with his small force of policemen.
Tinsley spotted Alex Fraziero on May 3, 1922, roaming aimlessly on the beach near 23rd Street (Goldenwest) looking more like an animal than a human with his long, unkempt hair and shaggy beard. As Tinsley approached Fraziero it was obvious this fellow had not bathed for some time.
He was arrested on a vagrancy charge for his own good and not in malice.
Tinsley later returned to the area around 23rd Street and found Fraziero had built a shelter of sticks and weeds on the beach. At night Fraziero would crawl inside and sleep to the sounds of the sea.
Fraziero was brought before Judge Charles Warner and received a sentence of a shave, haircut, bath and 30 days in jail. As for his shelter on the beach, the chief had it burned down.
In 1933 our police chief was LaVerne Keller and his force included six officers, two motorcycles and a single automobile.
Mr. M.E. Brown may have planned a Sunday at the beach, but on Aug. 20, 1933, the Los Angeles resident was driving along Ocean Avenue (now Pacific Coast Highway) near the bluffs in his Overland car when he hit a car driven by Nelson Mathias of Glendale.
When Officer Howard Robidoux arrived at the scene, Brown fled toward the beach on foot.
Robidoux spotted Brown as he was taking off his coat in preparation for a plunge into the ocean, but Robidoux had other plans for this hit-and-run driver and gave chase that led the two into the blue Pacific where Brown was apprehended.
Robidoux returned to the station with his prisoner where his fellow officers could hear the sounds of Robidoux’ seawater-soaked shoes and wet feet as he approached the desk.
After Brown was taken care of, the other officers had a good laugh about Robidoux’ wet feet that day.
On Nov. 14, 1933, two other officers spotted Frank Smith of Long Beach running shirtless and shoeless down Fifth Street at 2:30 a.m., and gave chase. After some difficulty, the out-of-breath officers caught up with Smith and he was taken to jail.
