Will the Los Angeles Police Department ever outgrow its violent origins?
Los Angeles during the mid-nineteenth century was described by an early city historian as undoubtedly the toughest town of the entire nation. This notoriously violent town of only a few thousand residents boasted a much higher murder rate than New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. Horace Bell, an early chronicler of the city, stated: Human life was about the cheapest thing in Los Angeles and killings were frequent.
The lawlessness extended to the town's law keepers. Prior to the formation of a bona fide police department in 1869, official law enforcement in Los Angeles consisted of a county sheriff and city marshal. But they were often preoccupied with other duties - the sheriff with the collection of county taxes (out of which he took a share), and the marshal with the roundup and auction of so-called vagrant Indians (for which he received a commission). Stopping crime was a secondary concern. So Angelenos turned to volunteer groups and vigilance committees in an attempt to establish law and order. All too often, these volunteers become vigilantes and the committees would devolve into lynch mobs.
But the creation of a formal police force did not immediately bring effective law enforcement to the area. Much of the town's violence and criminal activity, including gambling and prostitution, continued unabated.
And when it came to prostitution in the Chinese community, rather than trying to prevent crime, some officers actually aided and abetted the sex traffickers. In fact, a profitable business dynamic was created. When a Chinese prostitute ran away, the prostitute's trafficker would file a complaint with the police, alleging that the prostitute had stolen something. American lawmen would locate and arrest the prostitute. The trafficker would put up the bail and the police would release the prostitute back into the trafficker's custody. And, as a result, the American lawmen would receive a reward for their efforts.
This nefarious arrangement was in full swing on October 14, 1870, when a young Chinese prostitute named Sing Yu (also reported as Sing Lo or Lon You), ran away, possibly with a lover. Her sex trafficker filed a complaint with the police seeking her arrest. The complaint alleged that the missing prostitute had stolen a gold watch and $130 in gold coins. A $100 reward was offered for her return.
City Marshal William Warren and a hotheaded subordinate police officer named Joseph Dye, initiated separate, competing investigations to find Sing Yu. Warren located the girl first in San Buenaventura (Ventura) and brought her back to Los Angeles. While Warren had done the leg work and located the woman, Officer Dye thought he was entitled to the reward because he had telegraphed the warrant to the marshal of San Buenaventura, authorizing him to detain her.
Officer Dye was an impetuous and violent man and did not take defeat lightly. And this was compounded by the fact that this was not the first time that Dye had been bested by his boss. Just a couple months earlier, Warren had located a kidnapping victim before Dye and collected the reward. Joe Dye was not going to stand for it again.
Portrait of William G. Warren, 1867. Photo courtesy of the USC Libraries - California Historical Society Collection.
Portrait of Joseph Dye, 1864. Photo courtesy of the Seaver Center for Western History Research, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
So on October 31, 1870, Marshal Warren and another policeman were escorting Sing Yu back to jail when an angry voice called out from the crowd: Warren, O!, Warren. An enraged Officer Dye approached Warren and asked him about the reward money. Warren dismissed Dye saying that he did not want to have anything to do with him. That was not a sufficient response for Dye, who got even angrier: Do you suppose I am going to get swindled out of my money. Sir, you have robbed me out of that money. The two men now stood only a few feet apart. Warren, who was holding a derringer (a small, single-shot pocket pistol) behind his back, called Dye a liar and denied robbing anyone. At this point, the situation began to unravel.
Dye raised his cane as if to strike Warren. In response, Warren pulled the derringer from behind his back and fired. Dye jumped back and the bullet grazed his face. Dye dropped his cane and reached for a six-shooter under his coat. Warren dropped the derringer and reached for his six-shooter. Guns drawn, the two men started shooting. A few spectators were hit by the wild shots. Warren was hit in the abdomen and fell to the ground exclaiming: I'm killed.
Dye, who himself had been shot in the thigh, charged towards his wounded boss. Dye hit Warren in the head with his pistol, then grabbed him and bit a chunk out of Warren's ear. Several men from the crowd had to pull Dye off of Warren. Warren tried to get up but his injuries were too severe. The bullet was lodged in his groin and it had pierced his bladder. He died the next morning.
The LAPD was born in a violent small town simmering with racism and the force reflected its mother city.
Dye was put on trial for Warren's death, but he was acquitted on the basis of self-defense. Witnesses testified that Warren had fired first. Years later, Dye was shot and killed by a man he had threatened in connection with a dispute over money. Meanwhile, the prostitute, Sing Yu, was released for lack of evidence, and was taken back by her trafficker.
The shootout between Warren and Dye, which occurred near the present-day intersection of Temple and Main Streets (next to City Hall and a block away from the current LAPD headquarters) offers a glimpse into the lawless and violent early days of our city. In 1870, as it does today, the LAPD reflected the social and cultural environment of Los
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
03/05/2024
NEW YORK CBS has declared that it will finish the 2023-24 season as Americas Most-Watched Network in primetime for the 16th consecutive season....
Will the Los Angeles Police Department ever outgrow its violent origins?
