Police Historical Society Holds Fund-Raiser

“Looking toward the future with an eye on the past” has been a slogan of the Los Angeles Police Historical Society for years, but it seemed particularly apt as the organization sponsored a gala fund-raising dinner Thursday night to celebrate the LAPD’s 126th year.

The past year has been a difficult one for the department, marred by a series of controversies that have hurt efforts to raise the $5 million needed to transform the former Northeast Police Station in Highland Park into a museum documenting the department’s history.

“There’s no doubt we’ve taken a pretty good hit this year,” said historical society founder and President Richard Kalk. “We’ve had to regroup. We’ve had to wait.”

Kalk hopes the dinner is the first step in replenishing the society’s coffers, which have dwindled to about $100,000.

The more than 500 dinner guests--among them Judge Lance A. Ito and his wife, police Capt. Margaret York, and actors Steven Seagal, Kent McCord, Ricardo Montalban and Tom Posten--paid $250 to $1,000 apiece to attend.

“I think this turnout shows that the men and women in the community in Los Angeles, regardless of walk of life, support the LAPD,” Police Chief Willie L. Williams told the guests.

“We want to show, even in the wake of all the controversy that affects the perception of the LAPD, that there are citizens who believe in the institution and the people who run it,” said the dinner’s honorary chairman, Beverly Hills publisher Arthur Kassel.

This year’s Jack Webb Awards--which honor service to the Los Angeles community--went to philanthropist John E. Anderson, actor Robert Stack and Stack’s wife, Rosemarie.