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Via BoxsterSBob@aol.com ✆ to sdpd-news on 10-18-2011
Calif denies parole for ill 'Onion Field' killer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California parole board on Tuesday denied compassionate release for the man convicted of killing a Los Angeles police officer during a kidnapping chronicled in the book "The Onion Field." Gregory Powell, 77, has terminal cancer and is serving a life sentence for kidnapping police officers Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger in 1963. He fatally shot Campbell in an onion field near Bakersfield, while Hettinger escaped. He did not attend the hearing in Sacramento. The state panel voted 10-1 against recommending his release to a judge because it said Powell still poses a threat. The board also said Powell does not wish to be released and likely would be uncooperative if granted parole. "Powell's release would pose a public safety risk due to his history of noncompliance and lack of cooperation with prison rules," the panel stated. Under state law, inmates who are not on death row and are eligible for parole are considered for compassionate release once doctors determine they have six months or less to live. The parole board routinely considers making such recommendations to a judge. Members of Campbell's family and the union for rank-and-file Los Angeles Police Department officers had urged the parole board to deny Powell's release. "We appreciate that the board of parole hearings, having repeatedly found Powell not suitable for parole ... is once again recommending against his release and helping to ensure that he serves the full sentence for his heinous crime," Paul Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said in a statement. The case was the subject of a 1973 best-selling, nonfiction book, "The Onion Field" by Joseph Wambaugh, which was turned into a movie in 1979.
Background from a LAPD friend of Det. Vic Shuman The Daily MirrorLarry Harnisch reflects on Los Angeles history« Previous Post | The Daily Mirror Home | Next Post » The ‘Onion Field’ Remembered [Update]
January
25,
2010
March 11,
1963: Jimmy
Lee Smith
returns to
the crime
scene to
reenact the
“Onion
Field”
killing with
Sgt. G.H.
Bates, left,
as Officer
Ian
Campbell;
Sgt. Danny
Galindo,
center, as
Officer Karl
Hettinger;
and Sgt.
Pierce
Brooks,
right, as
Gregory
Powell.
 Photograph by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times
March 11,
1963: Jimmy
Lee Smith,
in
handcuffs,
points to
where
Officer Ian
Campbell was
shot after
he fell to
the ground.
Sgt. Pierce
Brooks takes
the role of
Gregory
Powell.
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Retired
Police Lt. Max
K. Hurlbut, one
of the Daily
Mirror’s regular
readers, writes: Hi, LARRY,  KARL
goes upstairs to
consult with
detectives on an
old case.
IAN, GARY, and I
discuss an
incident this
very day.
Two Inglewood
officers,
DOUGLAS WEBB &
ARTHUR FRANZMAN,
see a white
Corvair run a
red light at
Manchester
Avenue &
Crenshaw
Boulevard.
Unbeknownst to
them, the two
occupants have
211'd the "White
Elephant
Restaurant" at
8420 Crenshaw.The L.A. Times article of 10 March (“Fleeing Driver Forces Police Into Cemetery,” unknown page) states, “When officer Franzman approached the car, the driver whipped out a .45 caliber automatic and yelled to Webb, “Drop that gun or I’ll blow your friend’s head off.” The startled officers dropped their gun belts and were marched into the cemetery. The gunmen left them there, picked up their guns, and fled....” We conclude the bad guys probably fear the death penalty so do not harm the officers. This is one of three similar police kidnapping incidents in the Greater L.A. area the previous month. KARL returns and he & IAN drive off in their unmarked Plymouth to their destiny at Carlos & Gower. I’ve often wondered if, en route to his execution, IAN reflected upon the irony of events that day. (He was a philosophy major in college). The CAMPBELL-HETTINGER shooting changes procedures on LAPD and in the entire law enforcement community. Commander JOHN “TWO-GUN” POWERS writes Patrol Bureau Order No. 11 six days later which is reflected in today’s officer survival training. HETTINGER’s surrender of his revolver and subsequent flight (which saves his life) come under intense scrutiny. KARL is forced to appear before fellow officers at roll calls to describe and answer for his actions. It is not pretty. I am selected to become Chief WILLIAM H. PARKER’s driver, but he takes KARL instead. We do not have a Department shrink in these days, but it is an attempt to relieve some of the pressures on poor KARL. KARL retires to become a gardener---in Bakersfield near that very same onion field! (Why isn’t this a red flag, even then?). KARL dies at 59, a delayed response to the events of some 30 years before.... Forgot to mention a little aside on the IAN CAMPBELL shooting. We used to write F.I. ("Field Interrogation") cards on everyone stopped. If, next morning, a burglary or other crime was discovered nearby, it could be useful info. Sometimes a "hummer" (not well-articulated reason for the stop) would go down as a 211 or 459 suspect, when it was really just a hunch or a feeling (based upon experience) that something was amiss. IAN & KARL probably thought this was just another F.I. card or "shake." Most officers felt CAMPBELL was not prepared when he walked up to POWELL in the driver's seat. [I.e., IAN should have had his gun out, even if it was held down, out of sight, beside his leg, with flashlight in his left hand. SOP, even then, was to order felony suspects to walk back to you]. POWELL & SMITH had a homosexual relationship, so it is likely that the officers' "fruit roll" patrol found the actual suspects they were looking for. It's also apparent that both officers did not know what they had. I doubt they could initially ascertain the suspects were black, as it's difficult to view the interiors of cars at night with occupants facing forward.* Anyway.....SMITH was always the passenger and kept his revolver in a paper bag between the two. POWELL, however, practiced a little trick which snagged IAN. (This info. comes from one of his cellmates). Bear with me.....  Photograph by Edward Gamer / Los Angeles Times
Dr. Harold
Kate
[Update:
Harold
Kade],
autopsy
surgeon, and
Sgt. Pierce
Brooks
insert rods
in a
mannequin to
show the
paths of the
bullets that
killed
Officer Ian
Campbell.
LAPD procedure in felony stops was to order the passenger to place his hands up or out the window, so as to be in view of the passenger officer. Driver was ordered to place his hands atop the steering wheel. (Which could be seen by officers with high-beams or spot light). Driver would then be ordered to place his left hand outside the window (with right remaining on the wheel) and open his door, using the outside button or latch. As he stepped out, he would be told to face forward and slowly back up, hands in the air. POWELL kept his piece on the floor, just under the seat behind his right foot. He practiced opening the door with his left hand and, as he stepped out, sliding the gun along the floor with his right foot. As he did this, his right arm would momentarily be concealed from officers. He would reach down and emerge with the gun in his right hand. Following the Onion Field shooting, POWELL stole a car and headed back to L.A. He was stopped over the Grapevine by a CHP officer. Supposedly, he tried this slide-the-gun-with-his-foot trick, but the weapon snagged and somehow bounced back. Probably saved the life of the Chippie. Rarely a day passes that I do not think of IAN & KARL....Am pleased to be able to shed a little light after so many years.
LAPD Lieutenant’s Badge 1
Do
not know if you
wish to have me
answer the
commentary of
"Native
Angeleno" who
says, "...but
this obsession
with race the
LAPD is well
known for, or
should i (sic)
say one race in
particular,
can not be
avoided reading
Max."
Thanks for your
response, “Call
Box Sam.”
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There
is a "rest of
the story"
regarding this
incident---not
known to JOE
WAMBAUGH (who
graduated the
Academy class
before me: May
1960)---that you
are welcome to
print if it is
of interest:
Photograph
by Don Cormier /
Los Angeles
Times|
Via BoxsterSBob@aol.com ✆ to sdpd-news
on 10-18-2011
Calif denies
parole for ill
'Onion Field'
killer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California parole board on Tuesday denied compassionate release for the man convicted of killing a Los Angeles police officer during a kidnapping chronicled in the book "The Onion Field." Gregory Powell, 77, has terminal cancer and is serving a life sentence for kidnapping police officers Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger in 1963. He fatally shot Campbell in an onion field near Bakersfield, while Hettinger escaped. He did not attend the hearing in Sacramento. The state panel voted 10-1 against recommending his release to a judge because it said Powell still poses a threat. The board also said Powell does not wish to be released and likely would be uncooperative if granted parole. "Powell's release would pose a public safety risk due to his history of noncompliance and lack of cooperation with prison rules," the panel stated. Under state law, inmates who are not on death row and are eligible for parole are considered for compassionate release once doctors determine they have six months or less to live. The parole board routinely considers making such recommendations to a judge. Members of Campbell's family and the union for rank-and-file Los Angeles Police Department officers had urged the parole board to deny Powell's release. "We appreciate that the board of parole hearings, having repeatedly found Powell not suitable for parole ... is once again recommending against his release and helping to ensure that he serves the full sentence for his heinous crime," Paul Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said in a statement. The case was the subject of a 1973 best-selling, nonfiction book, "The Onion Field" by Joseph Wambaugh, which was turned into a movie in 1979.
Background from a LAPD friend of Det. Vic Shuman The Daily MirrorLarry Harnisch reflects on Los Angeles history« Previous Post | The Daily Mirror Home | Next Post » The ‘Onion Field’ Remembered [Update]
January 25, 2010
March 11, 1963: Jimmy Lee Smith
returns to the crime scene to reenact
the “Onion Field” killing with Sgt. G.H.
Bates, left, as Officer Ian Campbell;
Sgt. Danny Galindo, center, as Officer
Karl Hettinger; and Sgt. Pierce Brooks,
right, as Gregory Powell.
Photograph by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times
March 11, 1963: Jimmy Lee Smith,
in handcuffs, points to where Officer
Ian Campbell was shot after he fell to
the ground. Sgt. Pierce Brooks takes the
role of Gregory Powell.
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Retired Police Lt. Max K. Hurlbut,
one of the Daily Mirror’s regular readers,
writes: Hi, LARRY,
IAN & KARL
shortly arrive and join us. The two are
working 6Z4 [not an "F-car" (felony car) as
commonly reported]. "Z" indicates a
divisional special assignments car. A rash
of "fruit rolls" (politically incorrect term
for the street robberies of gays) was their
mission.
Dr.
Harold Kate [Update: Harold Kade],
autopsy surgeon, and Sgt. Pierce Brooks
insert rods in a mannequin to show the
paths of the bullets that killed Officer
Ian Campbell.
LAPD procedure in felony stops was to order the passenger to place his hands up or out the window, so as to be in view of the passenger officer. Driver was ordered to place his hands atop the steering wheel. (Which could be seen by officers with high-beams or spot light). Driver would then be ordered to place his left hand outside the window (with right remaining on the wheel) and open his door, using the outside button or latch. As he stepped out, he would be told to face forward and slowly back up, hands in the air. POWELL kept his piece on the floor, just under the seat behind his right foot. He practiced opening the door with his left hand and, as he stepped out, sliding the gun along the floor with his right foot. As he did this, his right arm would momentarily be concealed from officers. He would reach down and emerge with the gun in his right hand. Following the Onion Field shooting, POWELL stole a car and headed back to L.A. He was stopped over the Grapevine by a CHP officer. Supposedly, he tried this slide-the-gun-with-his-foot trick, but the weapon snagged and somehow bounced back. Probably saved the life of the Chippie. Rarely a day passes that I do not think of IAN & KARL....Am pleased to be able to shed a little light after so many years.
LAPD Lieutenant’s Badge 1
Photograph
by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times
Do not know if you wish to have
me answer the commentary of "Native Angeleno"
who says, "...but this obsession with race
the LAPD is well known for, or should i
(sic) say one race in particular, can not
be avoided reading Max." Thanks for your
response, “Call Box Sam.”
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