Patrolmen See Selves as Ears, Eyes of Police

In two weeks of riding with several private security patrolmen, a Times reporter found some common characteristics:

Most said they liked their jobs despite the low pay because they felt less stress than they thought they would experience in police work.

“It’s more of a public relations job,” said Westec patrolman Patrick Teeter, 34, while driving through a Century City neighborhood abounding with the company’s security signs. “People are a lot nicer to you. They don’t think about the last ticket they got.”

Few felt they were doing a police officer’s job in another uniform.

“Basically, we’re the eyes and ears of the police,” said Steve Smith, 20, another Westec guard who took a reporter on a round through Hancock Park.

But some, such as Blue Shield patrolman Jim Parker, 35, clearly relish the occasional opportunity to reel in a crook.

Catches Two Burglars

“To be honest, I like to catch burglars (he has caught two in two years),” said Parker, who makes it a point to stop off at the Northeast Division police station before reporting to work to see what police activity he can expect on any particular day.

All said they could respond to burglar alarms in a few minutes because they were in the neighborhood, whereas police response might be half an hour or more.

All patrolmen said the nature of their specialized work in a confined geographic area usually allows them to be more alert to a potentially dangerous situation.

“I caught one (burglar) on the street with a television set, a tape recorder and jewelry in a laundry bag,” said Hollywoodland Patrol’s John Spates, because the burglar did not know the neighborhood and Spates did.

“He said he was coming from his girlfriend’s house,” said Spates, 49, while driving his rounds with Higginbottom, his 5-year-old terrier, who rides in a specially constructed back seat. But when he asked the suspect for his girlfriend’s address, “he pointed the wrong way for the numbers” and Spates held him for police.

Cooperation With Police

All stressed that they cooperate closely with local police in reporting criminal activity and calling in the law to pick up suspects.

Each had a state-licensed gun on his belt, usually a .38-caliber police-type revolver or a .357-magnum pistol loaded with .38-caliber bullets.

“We’re convinced that the gun has prevented a lot more trouble,” said Westec’s Usher. “The gun makes a big difference if someone wants to take you on or not.”

Whether private guards actually need guns is a sore point in the industry among those who contend that weapons can provoke ugly incidents that otherwise would not happen.

But private security officials interviewed all emphasized that their patrolmen use great restraint. Unlike Los Angeles police, who have more latitude, private guards are not allowed to draw their weapons unless faced with a life-threatening situation such as a person wielding a knife, the officials said.

There is no place in their ranks, they contend, for the macho Clint Eastwood-type.

“I don’t want any fast-draw experts,” emphasized Leo McDowell, 57, a Marine combat veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam and Bel-Air’s captain-in-charge of patrolmen.

“The more you’re trained to draw weapons, the more you tend to do it. I would rather call in (Los Angeles police) support than (have a Bel-Air patrolman) draw a weapon.”