Members of the Los Angeles Police Department work at the scene of a shooting in December 1953. Award-winning crime writer James Ellroy, author of books such as "The Black Dahlia" and "L.A. Confidential," has teamed up with the Los Angeles Police Museum on "LAPD '53," a new book that looks at law enforcement in the city more than 60 years ago. The book will be released on Tuesday, May 19.
Los Angeles Police Museum
A .38-caliber Iver Johnson revolver sits in the back of a car where a 28-year-old man named George Delbert Greenberg killed himself in June 1953. "Despondency" was listed as the cause of the suicide, Ellroy wrote in the book.
Los Angeles Police Museum
Louis W. Hammert was killed in August 1953, a year after the convicted bank robber was paroled from prison. He was shot by the chief guard of a bank in downtown Los Angeles. "Morgue jockeys, medical examiners and homicide cops are irrepressible cut-ups," Ellroy wrote. "Someone decked Hammert out in shades and a straw fedora."
Los Angeles Police Museum
Jesus Fernandez Munoz dropped 50 feet and hit the concrete floor of the Los Angeles River bed in February 1953. Ellroy described him as a "good guy down on his luck. The coroner's register one-sheet is perfunctory. It's an accidental death. Men like Munoz are accident-prone. He was walking on or sleeping on a concrete beam below the Aliso Street Bridge."
Los Angeles Police Museum
Manuel S. Pazo, 26, hanged himself with his belt at the Highland Park Station jail in March 1953. "LAPD popped him at Albion Street and Avenue 17," Ellroy wrote. "Bystanders eyeballed him mauling a 15-year-old girl."
Los Angeles Police Museum
An aerial view of the scene where a 46-year-old woman named Ruth K. Wilson killed herself in July 1953. She jumped from the ninth floor of the Biltmore Hotel, just a few blocks away from the cafe where she worked, Ellroy wrote.
Los Angeles Police Museum
Paul M. Kenney, 42, was killed by his friend after an argument in February 1953. "I knocked him down and his head hit the pavement," Clarence E. Vickery told the LAPD. "I picked him up and hit him again, and then I kicked him several times in the face and head."
Los Angeles Police Museum
Willie B. Miller slashed the throat of his wife, Clara Mae, in May 1953. Miller had a shootout with police before eventually surrendering.
Los Angeles Police Museum
Police officers work at the scene of a gang killing on Halloween night.
