Catching Burglars: Ex-Cop-turned-Author Writes From Her Passion

By Kathy Bennett

[Editor's Note: Author Kathy Bennett writes from her own police experience. She served 29 years with Los Angeles Police Department. And if that was not enough experience, she married a cop. Find out more about Kathy at her own web site here]

Everyone who has a job knows that there are some aspects to the job that you like better than others. If you’re a baker maybe you don’t like baking the cake but you enjoy applying the icing. Perhaps you work as an auto mechanic. You aren’t fond of replacing brakes, but tearing apart a car's engine and putting back together again provides you a great sense of accomplishment.

Police officers are no different. Some officers love to write tickets. Others like working with the community to solve ongoing problems. For some officers, spotting people driving stolen cars or detaining suspects holding narcotics gets their hearts racing.

The suspects I liked to target were burglars. It didn’t matter if they were burglars who invaded a person’s home or if the suspects broke into cars. For me, the attraction was the fact they worked 24/7. Even more incentive was that burglars are hard to catch. What can I say? I like a challenge.

One of the more memorable arrests I made I was working with another female officer whose name also happened to be Kathy. She was my favorite partner ever. We’d just started working together and were assigned to the ‘morning watch,’ which many other departments and professions call the graveyard shift. Most officers working the morning watch enjoyed patrolling in the dead of night and the ones who worked it year after year were a tight-knit group. We were newcomers, and had to prove ourselves.

There was an industrial complex where businesses were getting hit several times a week, and had been for months. Kathy and I decided our first shift together that at some point we’d go over to the industrial complex and park in the shadows and see if anything developed.

I was driving our black and white patrol car, and we slowly cruised past the many closed businesses in search of a good ‘hiding spot.’ We passed by a building that had a chain-link fence enclosure attached. The fencing had privacy slats, but that didn’t prevent Kathy and me from spotting a guy prowling around.

After detaining him, we determined there was a business in the complex that had been burglarized, and that the suspect was in possession of two large key rings containing about a hundred of regular door keys along with dozens of vending machine keys. The suspect was a transient and had no explanation for the many keys he had with him. Along with the keys, we had evidence from the business that had been burglarized to book him, so we hauled him to jail. That was the first of a number of good arrests we made on morning watch. During our first month we were readily accepted into the fold and were well respected by our co-workers. Kathy and I worked morning watch together for the better part of seven years.

Another time, there was an area where the division had a high incidence of burglaries of items from motor vehicles.  Somewhere around three o’clock one morning, Kathy and I were driving through the 'hot' area with our lights off and, lo and behold, we saw a car parked in the middle of a dark street. We nabbed three young men who all went to a religious school together. They were in the process of breaking into a car, and once we’d taken them into custody, we got them to show us the fourteen other cars they’d broken into. The boys were arrested and booked. Needless to say, when we called the kids' parents to come pick up their felon sons, the parents weren’t happy at all.

In my latest book, A Deadly Justice, my personal itch for capturing burglars led me to create a team of

sophisticated burglars as adversaries for my main character, LAPD Detective Maddie Divine to uncover. But in order to keep my story authentic, Maddie and her partner, Jade, get involved with other investigations as well…just like it happens in real life. What Maddie doesn’t know is that investigating the burglars may reveal a secret in her own life she’s tried desperately to bury.

*******

Kathy Bennett is no stranger to murder and mayhem. She served twenty-nine years with the Los Angeles Police Department - eight as a civilian employee and twenty-one years as a sworn police officer. While most of her career was spent in a patrol car, she’s also been a Firearms Instructor at the LAPD Academy, a crime analyst in the “War Room”, a Field Training Officer, a Senior Lead Officer, and worked undercover in various assignments. Kathy was honored to be named Officer of the Year in 1997.

Kathy's debut novel, A Dozen Deadly Roses, and her second book, A Deadly Blessing became bestselling ebooks at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. A Deadly Blessing, is the first book in a series featuring LAPD Detective Maddie Divine and was named a Best Nook Book Original for 2012. Law enforcement personnel laud Kathy's authentic stories of crime and suspense for 'getting it right.'

Kathy's third book, A Deadly Justice, was released in September of 2013. She's currently working on her fourth novel, A Deadly Denial.

BEYOND RECOGNITION: An LAPD Helicopter Pilot’s Story of Survival Over Adversity

[Editor’s Note: We are privilege to have Ron Corbin as a guest today, a man who served during the Vietnam war as a helicopter pilot, surviving two tours of duty in that war-torn country before serving another six years as an LAPD police officer and pilot. Corbin’s flying career with LAPD ended when he and another police officer crashed in the mountains above Los Angeles, leaving his trainee dead and Corbin with 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 70 percent of his body. He left LAPD, continued college and graduate studies, and later served with Las Vegas Metro Police Department. Beyond Recognition, among other things, is about his love of flying and his story of survival over adversity.]

By Ron Corbin
After two tours in Vietnam as a chief warrant officer pilot flying Huey “slicks,” the Army offered me a direct

commission to a 2nd lieutenant if I re-enlisted. With no end in sight to the war, accepting “Uncle Sam’s” offer would mean another combat tour. I decided not to push-my-luck,” and signed-out.

To make a living as a husband and father, I returned to my old job in Southern California at UPS, putting on hold my career ambition of continuing to fly. While watching TV one evening at dinner time, a recruiting ad came on for LAPD. In the commercial, the helicopters flown by officers assigned to the Department’s air unit flashed across the screen. I looked at my wife, Kathy, and asked her what she thought about me joining the police department.

She wasn’t too keen on the idea, knowing the hazards of being a police officer. She suggested I look into the City or County Fire Department and trying to fly for them. To me, having to be a fireman first with no guarantee of ever getting to be a pilot didn’t seem any safer of a profession than being a street cop. So in my warped sense of humor, which at the time seemed logical to me, I justified my thought by saying that “I had been shot at in Vietnam, so being shot at as a cop won’t be that big of a deal. Running into a burning, smoked-filled building seemed to be a stupid idea, so I’d rather be a cop.” And with that, I started the process of becoming a Los Angeles Policeman in 1971.

After a few years fighting crime “Adam-12 style” on the streets of LA, I was one of the first two or three former military-trained pilots to be accepted into Air Support Division (ASD). Eventually I became one of their flight instructors.

During my two-year tenure as an ASD police pilot, my military training and past experience became a contention of jealousy and resentment by the unit’s chief pilot. I was called an “F-ing jet jockey.” More bitterness evolved when I was appointed by the training sergeant to be an IP under the chief pilot’s supervision.

Ironically, not wanting to be a firefighter due to the dangers of fire, I ended up receiving 70 percent 2nd & 3rd degree burns from a helicopter crash. It was June 11th, 1976, and I was the instructor pilot (IP) training another police student pilot. While landing to a pinnacle in the mountains separating the San Fernando Valley from the greater LA basin, our Bell 47-G model helicopter experienced a loss of power. We crashed and rolled down the mountain 167 feet in a ball of fire. My trainee, Jeff Lindenberg was killed, and I was fortunate to survive.

Due to my injuries, continuing need for skin graft reconstructive surgeries, and years of required rehab, I was pensioned-off from LAPD. At the age of thirty, I was faced with an uncertain future. My two greatest loves, police work and flying, had been taken from me in the blink of an eye. I was also suffering tremendous “Survivor’s Guilt” from the accident. Telling my side of the story would help with closure.

So, after thirty-six years, I finally decided to document some of my memoirs about my accident and the investigation. Having written only a few short magazine articles before, I never really considered myself as being an author for a major book. But, published or unpublished, I knew that doing so would leave something for my children and grandchildren to remember me…and it would expose the truth of what really happened that fateful day. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you’ve got something to say.”

Beyond Recognition was written to expose the truth of what happened in my accident. Rumors and speculation from hangar talk formed among the other pilots and observers in the unit. A lot of misinformation was given to the widow of my trainee, Lesa Lindenberg. As a result, she naturally shifted blame to me as the IP who was charged with keeping her husband safe. I wanted an opportunity to set the record straight.

Upon researching the transcripts from the investigation, I discovered that the post-accident investigation could not determine a cause; so typically, blame was slanted towards pilot error.

During the Board of Inquiry that was formed to investigate and interview, several interesting things occurred. The chief pilot took advantage of my hospitalization and traumatic amnesia to feed the board members lies and misleading statements that reflected negatively on my judgment and the flying skills of my student pilot.

The NTSB investigator, to this day, has never interviewed me, yet submitted her report as a matter of record as to what she thought the physical evidence was that led to the cause. As the IP and sole survivor, I find that quite intriguing.

And lastly, when litigation convened between the City of LA, the LAPD, and corporate attorneys representing Textron, Lycoming, and Bell Helicopter, a vital piece of wreckage recovered at the accident scene “mysteriously disappeared” from all the other pieces retained for investigation. This was nothing short of a “cover up” to protect and shift accountability of others’ responsibility and involvement.

Beyond Recognition goes beyond physical appearance that I exude with all my burns and scars. It goes beyond comprehending that military pilots have training and experience that cannot be duplicated from learning to fly at the local airport. It goes beyond the tolerance I needed to accept unwarranted blame for the accident by peers and friends. And it goes beyond understanding what it is to suffer a lifetime of “Survivor’s Guilt.”

*********

Ron Corbin served two tours in Vietnam as an Army helicopter and instructor pilot.  He received numerous unit and individual ribbons for combat action, to include being awarded the Air Medal 31 times, once with a “V” device for valor.  Honorably discharged in 1969, he joined the LAPD as a policeman and pilot/instructor pilot for the Air Support Division.  Retiring from LAPD after an on-duty helicopter accident, he finished his college and graduate education.

He holds a Masters in elementary education and a Ph.D. in security administration with an emphasis in terrorism threats to America’s nuclear resources.  Joining the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 1993 as a crime prevention specialist, his specialty was Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).  He attended training in this discipline at the National Crime Prevention Institute, University of Louisville.  His CPTED subject matter expertise led him to be interviewed in Reader’s Digest, Sunset Magazine, PetroMart Business and Las Vegas Life magazines.

He also was responsible for publishing Metro’s in-house training journal, the Training Wheel.  Ron has been a contributing columnist to Las Vegas Now magazine as well as a guest lecturer on Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines, addressing citizens’ personal safety issues.  He is the previous author of stories published in several anthologies, and recently authored Beyond Recognition (Oak Tree Press), a memoir about  his helicopter crash with LAPD.  Ron retired as LVMPD’s academy training manager in 2011.  He and his wife Kathy have three children, six grandchildren, and live in Las Vegas.

Q&A: Historical Police Investigations

Investigating Police History

Writing about the past—particularly historical police investigations—can be challenging research. One of our readers is digging into old police techniques to help her write more accurately about the police investigations. Where do you go to find these nuggets of information?

PAMILA asks … What's the best source for accurate historical police procedure? I'm interested specifically in 1940 through 1960.

MARK: Challenging research. It is not like you can go the county library and get this kind of information to write with authenticity. Pamila, let me give part of the answer to your question that was published in an earlier blog. Then, I’ll expand on it based upon research this week.

Police work was handled quite differently in the 1940s, any may vary depending what part the United States your writing about. Even though investigative techniques had been standardized to meet court mandates today, getting the job still varies from agency to agency. Several factors come into play—available personnel, level of expertise, jurisdictional constraints—and each of these considerations may change the dynamics of an investigation. New York City tackles their investigations different than Los Angeles, who varies from San Francisco. This holds true for investigations in the mid 1900s as well as modern-day law enforcement.

One source of information that might give you a flavor of that 1930-1950 eras is information about the life and times of August Vollmer, former police chief of Berkeley, Ca. (1905-1932). He is one of those credited with modernizing police work and was active in this endeavor almost until his death in the 1950s. After leaving Berkley PD, he taught at the UC, Berkeley, and founded the American Society of Criminology. I believe he was chief at LAPD for a couple years, but left due to the level of corruption in that agency. I located Berkeley PD’s historical site which lists Sergeant Michael Holland as a contact person regarding Berkeley police history and police procedures. He can be reached at (510) 981-5802. Here is an e-mail contact: mih1@ci.berkeley.ca.us for more information.

Many police departments, particularly the larger ones, have individuals or even whole units interested in preserving police history of their department. I’d suggest you search whatever geographical area you’re writing about, list those police agencies, then make calls to those agencies or check them out online for information.

Never overlook local universities, particularly those offering criminology studies. They’ll have a treasure trove of information you’re looking for.

Pamila further asks … I am specifically interested in police and FBI procedures in New York City, and West Texas from 1939-1950 for my current project, The Bella Vista Motel. I’m researching vice related stuff, organized crime and homicide investigations. The Los Angeles research is for an upcoming project, police and possibly FBI, too. I’ve had some luck researching homicide investigations. But I really need to know the details of how rape victims were handled and processed in 1950 in Los Angeles.

MARK:  One key component is how that particular agency created and managed their investigative services, and to what level patrol services were used to investigate crime. 


Today, sex crimes investigations may vary drastically. In one agency, the crime may be almost investigated exclusively by a Sexual Assault Unit, while another agency may lean on their patrol services to handle a lot of the initial information. You will need to do an historic search of records to get this kind of information. I would imagine these felonies were handed over to the detective bureau as quick as patrol could pass it on. And, considering the all-male police force and other cultural issues in the mid-1900s, these sort of crimes were not investigated to the extent they are today.


First, start with a direct source about either the New York or the Los Angeles police departments. Contact representatives within each agency or their media relations officers. I might start with media contacts with each department or links to police history for each agency. On the NYPD web site, for example, I found a link to the New York Police Department Police Museum with the following contact information:

NYPD's First Precinct 

The NYPD Museum

100 Old Slip

New York, NY 10005

Telephone: (212) 480-3100

E-mail: info@nycpm.org

These contacts might lead you elsewhere in your search of historical data. Often times, I’ve found these contacts are very helpful and willing to give of their time. They have a passion for history, and they appreciate it when someone takes the time to get the record straight.

Here is how to begin contact to gain historical information about the Los Angeles Police Department:

The Los Angeles Police Historical Society (LAPHS)

6045 York Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA

Telephone: 1-(877) 804-1523

Telephone: (323) 344-9445

E-mail: www.laphs.com

To locate information on West Texas, select the law enforcement jurisdiction where your story takes place, identify the law enforcement agency that handles that area, then try to make direct contact. Just remember, there might be overlapping jurisdictions. For example, the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francesco Sheriff’s Office have overlapping jurisdiction because the county and the city cover the same ground. Agencies generally tend to work out these jurisdictional conflicts, particularly on the local level. However, interesting battles can occur when local, state and federal agencies have conflicting interests. Makes for a good story.

FBI Headquarters, Washington, DC.

Finally—the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Editor's note: remember there is no S at the end of the FBI). There is a more information about the FBI and its history than any other federal law enforcement agency. Again, start with the source. The FBI main web page has a link to FBI history.  In the lower left corner is a line For Researchers. Click on this link and a page titled Research FBI Records & Information pops up. There are a number of great source links on this page, including one titled FBI History webpage. They even maintain an electronic reading room for their most popular FBI records, which you can call up from the comfort of your own home. There is a direct contact link on the same site for information that may not be online, but still releasable without too much trouble. And, if you can travel to the nation's capitol, there is information about where and how to access information from the FBI's library, located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C.

Again, never underestimate the wealth of information universities and colleges hold on this subject—particularly those institutions with criminal justice programs or related disciples. They can often give you a candid view of a subject, where the affected law enforcement agency—at least the media contacts—might sugar-coat sensitive issues. Your interest in historical rape investigation procedures, for example, would definitely be one of those hot potatoes.

Q: Anyone have other sources on this subject to help Pamila out?