Police Memo on Paroled Killer Mailed to Neighbors

A strongly worded Los Angeles Police Department internal memo about a paroled killer has been mailed without authorization to residents of the ex-convict’s North Hollywood neighborhood, a spokesman for the department said Monday.

The memo, which describes Raymond Louis George, 36, as a “dangerous threat to be taken seriously,” could create unnecessary fear in the community, said Capt. Daniel B. Watson, who drafted the memo.

George--convicted of killing a police officer, assaulting two others and attacking a college student with a machete--was paroled Wednesday. He is living in an apartment in the 11800 block of Vanowen Street, where he is visited daily by a parole officer, authorities said.

Watson, patrol commander of the department’s North Hollywood Division, said he drafted the two-page memo Jan. 13 after he was notified of George’s release. He said he ordered it distributed to North Hollywood patrol officers and to other police stations in the San Fernando Valley.

Psychiatric Condition

George, on medication for a psychiatric condition, is described in the memo as a “5150,” the police code for a mentally unstable person. The memo also details his criminal history.

“George is a 5150 who believes his mission in life is to kill police officers and women,” the memo says. “Needless to say, George is a dangerous threat to be taken seriously. There is no new information indicating he wants to kill a police officer, but extreme caution should be used if you come in contact with him.”

Watson said he is unhappy that details of the memo have been made public. He said he has no idea who might be responsible.

“It was not made for the community,” Watson said. “It was a message from myself to my officers. Our officers would be facing a potential risk if they came in contact with him. It was supposed to be kept behind closed doors.”

Watson said the memo was strongly worded to make sure officers took notice. He acknowledged that the wording could unduly alarm the community.

“Right now, we don’t know that that is any longer the case,” Watson said of the memo’s description of George. “I don’t want to create unnecessary fear.”

Copies of the memo arrived by mail at The Times, which reported George’s parole last week. Residents of three homes on Vanowen said they received the memo Monday.

The anonymous sender said in a note in the same envelope as the memo that copies had been mailed to 50 residents who live near George.

“George is a time bomb,” the note says. “They have a right to know who is living in their neighborhood.”

Tony Chavez, 32, said he learned of George’s presence in the neighborhood from the memo mailed to his house. “We’re pretty concerned with this,” he said.

No Decision

Chavez said he has not decided whether to take the note’s advice and contact authorities to protest George’s presence in the neighborhood, or to keep quiet.

Calvary Temple on Vanowen also received the memo in the mail, said Tom Pennington, temple pastor.

“If this stuff is factual, it’s really not fair to us,” Pennington said. Referring to children in the neighborhood, he said: “To me, it’s a life-threatening position they could be in.”

Pennington said he told two neighbors about the letter, “not to be discriminatory, but to be aware. . . .”

George was convicted of second-degree murder in the Oct. 21, 1974, killing of David Jack, 21, a state police officer. He was also convicted of attempting to murder two Los Angeles police officers, one of whom was shot four times, and a 19-year-old woman who was permanently disabled when he attacked her with a machete.

George was paroled in 1983 but was returned to prison when police arrested him for possession of a weapon, a knife found taped to his leg.

Times staff writer Amy Kazmin contributed to this story.