‘Quick-Draw Cops’ Evoke a Sense of Awe in LAPD

Mention the name of Officer Sergio Garcia around police headquarters, and heads turn. In his way, he’s a legend.

Mention Officers Robert Brodowy or Norman Nelson, and there is the same immediate sense of awe about “Quick-Draw Cops” and “Walking Gods” who built a career grabbing their gun or baton to settle disputes on the street.

The Christopher Commission, in its firebrand report of problems of racism, brutality and mismanagement at the LAPD, found a “problem group” of 44 officers, each of whom had compiled more than half a dozen allegations of excessive force or improper tactics.

“The LAPD has done an outstanding job, by all accounts, of creating a culture in which officers generally do not steal, take bribes or use drugs,” the report said. But “the LAPD must apply the same management tools that have been successful in attacking those problems to the problem of excessive force.”

The report did not name any of the 44 officers, but regardless of who the Christopher Commission is talking about, many already know which officers are legendary for their style of policing.

In a series of interviews Wednesday with rank-and-file officers, sergeants and lieutenants, LAPD employees candidly told how individual policemen earn vaunted reputations as “gunfighters” and “shooters” and win the respect of rookies fresh out of the academy.

A longtime sergeant described how some beat officers would strap three and four guns to their hips and practice quick-drawing their weapons in front of a police station mirror.

A lieutenant recalled the rush of adrenaline whenever he shouted “Kill! Kill! Kill!” while chasing a burglar.

A patrolman remembered beating a man so violently that when his partner finally stilled his hand, he had no idea what he’d done. “If a guy so much as clenches his fist, by God, I’ll deck him,” the officer said. “I’m not going to wait until he hits me first.”

Several officers said that the average policeman, after only a year’s experience on the street, would no longer be able to pass the LAPD entrance examination because he would flunk the section about over-aggressive behavior.

“It’s unrelenting,” said Dr. Michael Mantell, a longtime police psychologist in Southern California who points out that the high stress factor inherent in police work sometimes pushes otherwise model officers over the edge.

“Day in and day out, you’re dealing with the saddest and the baddest and the maddest of society. Officers tell me how they can shovel human garbage only so long.

“And then frequently it’s the ones who don’t shoot that become the most stressed out. They either suffer guilt or embarrassment by not firing their gun, and it makes them feel like a wimp.”

Although the Christopher Commission criticized police officers who are prone to excessive force, many beat patrolmen view aggressive behavior by their peers as a successful crime-fighting tool, particularly in heavy gang and drug areas.

“When I went from patrol to a gang unit, the chances of my being involved in a violent altercation increased substantially,” said one officer.

A sergeant said many officers with tough images end up “ruling the division” where they work. “Supervisors who aren’t educated or experienced enough to handle them just left them alone,” he said.

Officer Norman Nelson was involved in a series of “capers”--as police lingo goes--including an incident in which he mistakenly shot a gas station attendant. He quit police work on a stress pension in February, and moved out of California.

Officer Robert Brodowy, however, fought for a long time to keep his job, despite a series of brutality allegations against him during a 22-year career with the LAPD.

While on the force, Brodowy used his baton to beat a drunk-driving suspect in the San Fernando Valley, chased a man for 2 1/2 hours for stealing a wallet containing $95, and reportedly struck a man in Van Nuys up to 40 times with his baton.

Brodowy also retired on a disability, telling the pension board: “I have been involved in numerous altercations and shootings throughout my career that have resulted in physical as well as emotional injuries.”

A police union official, who requested anonymity, said that management is to blame for a lot of what happened with Brodowy.

“He was such a dedicated officer . . . ,” the union official said. His problem was that the department just didn’t rein him in.”

Officer Sergio Garcia amassed nine suspensions for a variety of infractions, including excessive force during a 14-year career.

His longest suspension spanned 66 days, after he was accused of submitting a report that falsely stated that he had attempted to obtain fingerprints during a crime investigation. In addition, he has been accused of 17 other counts of administrative misconduct, including mistreating citizens. He eventually was relieved of duty, pending his own stress pension application.

“Mr. Garcia is totally impaired for policing with the LAPD or any other force,” concluded Dr. Michael B. Coburn, a psychiatrist who examined the officer. Added another psychiatrist, Dr. Allen H. Lefstin: “He cannot be trusted to carry a gun, to exercise judgment in critical situations or work with people.”

It was names such as Sergio Garcia and Robert Brodowy that quickly came to mind Wednesday when officers were asked who they saw as officers legendary for their street combat experiences.

One sergeant said that such reputations become role models for rookie cops. They said the reputations are fostered by supervisors who are too preoccupied to teach the negative side of such abrasive behavior.

“It used to be the department wanted brawn over brains, and that the department would (encourage) shootings in order for officers to get promotions and assigned to specialized duties,” he said.

“That’s how many of these guys made it, by being called gunfighters and shooters, and it gave the impression to young, immature officers that this is the way to get ahead. So the younger guys try to imitate the old-timers, and that’s what you’re seeing now. They want to be like ‘Walking Gods’ who have proven themselves to the world.”

A lieutenant said that among the rank and file, many officers have a “415 attitude,” a reference to a police radio call for disturbing the peace.

“I’ve heard guys at roll call stand up and say they’re going to shoot someone tonight,” he said. “And they’re just trying to impress us.”

But former Assistant Chief Jesse Brewer said that with a strong police union and savvy police defense representatives, it is difficult to hold every officer accountable for every complaint.

“I’m not sure it’s that easy to get rid of people,” he said. “Management doesn’t look the other way, but management isn’t always capable of dealing with it either.”