One-Adam-12, One-Adam 12, see the man...

stantheman86 said:
Great info!

The NYPD issues the SAME shields over and over? If the pin gets damaged, etc. do they repair them?

I remember watching "Brooklyn's Finest" and when Gere's character turned in his gear at retirement the guy threw his badge into a box that was already full of them.
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Yep. Same shields over and over. I guess if the loops on the back break they re-sodder it if possible but never heard of it. The pin is not part if the shield. There are two loops attached to the back. The shirt has two little slits that line up with the holes. You take the pin off and push the pin through the holes. The pin is just a giant safety pin that goes through the two loops and is then closed. Funny thing is that brings up memories. The only things the city issues you are shield, gun, cap device (matches shield. Those are not the same over and over again. They get lost all the time cause NY cops hate wearing their hats and lose them all the time) and vest. Everything else you pay for. I remember being told to bring 10 cents (dime only. No pennies or nickels and exact change only) to the swearing in day to pay for the pin. Cheap *******s!

Losing the shield was a major rip so most guys got a duplicate sheild made and left the original on their jackets in their locker. The dupe was legal because they were like 1/8 smaller all around. Not really visible to the naked eye. Some places made good ones others not so much. Guys looked at older guys dupes and asked where they got theirs. Mine looked perfect. So good that the day I retired I was sweating if I brought the real one to retire! While they were legal, the job did not authorize them. They out he shield in a mold on the desk to make sure it the right one. Then they thank you for your service and place it in a drawer. The movie Brooklyn Finest made it seem dark and cold. It wasn't that way
 
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Seven3 said:
I remember watching Adam 12 with my grandfather, so this thread reminded me of him. But by far my favorite "cop" show was the short- lived "Crime Story" in the mid-80s.
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That's two of us, Seven3. Crime Story was the best show on TV nobody watched, except us. I've got both seasons on DVD.
 
GaryS said:
Some small departments around here change badge numbers as people retire. The senior patrol officer always has Badge #1.
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That's how my department did it. We were assigned an ID number, and our badge number was based on seniority. As people retired, quit, etc., we all went through a badge swap. Our supply Sergeant also kept a couple of extra badges in case a badge had to be refinished. Generally that happened after a badge swap, when someone got a really crummy looking badge from one of the older guys.

We could purchase an extra badge with our ID number on it at our own expense; picture of mine is below:
 

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We got our badges via our uniform allotment with an authorization letter from our supply manager. We could have up to four, I think. Uniform shirt, outer garment, dress uniform, wallet.

We were unusual, if not unique, for EMS in that we we had take home portable radios, PPE gear, and other equipment. We weren't required to carry a badge and our ID off duty, but some of us did. The department tacitly encouraged us to stop and help off duty (in the city) and having a badge, ID, and radio helped that a lot. I usually left my portable in my truck so that I had it if needed. I used it on more than one occasion when a cell phone would have been too slow.

If anyone is really interested, I'll take a picture or scan of my badge. I got to keep one along with my dress uniform when I retired.

safearm said:
That's how my department did it. We were assigned an ID number, and our badge number was based on seniority. As people retired, quit, etc., we all went through a badge swap. Our supply Sergeant also kept a couple of extra badges in case a badge had to be refinished. Generally that happened after a badge swap, when someone got a really crummy looking badge from one of the older guys.

We could purchase an extra badge with our ID number on it at our own expense; picture of mine is below:
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Muley Gil said:
I loaded from dropboxes, because speedloaders weren't authorized at the academy back then!
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We had the same restriction, although once you got to a troop you could carry/use speedloaders. Never did have that satisfactorily explained to me.

I hired on in 1978, and was issued Don Hume leather: a "regular" Sam Browne duty belt, Jordan "River" holster, double drop box, and a handcuff case. None of that sissy Velcro; all the items had by-God brass snaps! Including the belt keepers…

I was also issued this (the Hurst stocks came several years later; the gun came with your basic Goncalo Alves "target" stocks that would jam up a speedloader):
 

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Darn you guys are right I seen that dragnet show where McCord was a cop on it. I thought I was seening two shows.

There were a few shows I seen recently were McCord had a 6" barrel and Milner had a 4" barrel. I wonder who's idea that was.

Great post, great stories, great tv show.

There showing all these shows from this era on MeTv.
 
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Deputy50 said:
I believe LAPD did and still does reissue shield numbers upon retirements. LAPD would have had about 5000 police officers when the show ran. I suspect they gave Malloy a three digit number to show he was more experienced and as a take off of Joe Friday's 714 number.

Each LAPD officer has both a badge number and a separate serial number that follows them during their career. I have seen written other places where Malloy and Reed's serial numbers were consistent with the range that would have been issued to their respective graduating academy classes..
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Officers may purchase their badge now upon retirement; a "retired" banner is glued onto the top, above the rank. When you're promoted though, you gotta turn your Police Officer badge in and it's supposedly re-issued. The old "Policeman" badges aren't re-issued (politically incorrect), except to the old coppers that have lost their original "Policeman" shields. Most cops tend to "lose" their old badges upon promotion; there is a stack of blank reports (called "PIR"-preliminary investigation report) at the Personal desk for those cops that have "lost" their badges while boating at Lake Havasu (in AZ) on the weekend before being promoted to Sergeant or Detective.

Each rank has it's own number series; "Police Officer" badges are well into 5-digit numbers, because there's many more patrolmen than Dets or Sgts. Command Officers (CPTs, CMDRs, etc) are usually only in the double-digits. Not that many. The Chief has no number on his badge; just 4 stars.
Bob
 
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OIF2 said:
Most cops tend to "lose" their old badges upon promotion; there is a stack of blank reports (called "PIR"-preliminary investigation report) at the Personal desk for those cops that have "lost" their badges while boating at Lake Havasu on the weekend before being promoted to Sergeant or Detective.
Bob
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That would be like the stack of "It must have happened on my day off because it was like that when I came in today" reports my agency used to have. :)
 
Jack Flash said:
I respectfully disagree with that statement.

Disclaimer:
I am not a LEO, do not play one on TV, and did not even stay in a Holiday Inn last night ... :D

On a related note, the series went off the air in '75. How close was that to the time-frame that the LAPD went over to semi-autos (or jam-o-matics as they are sometimes called)?
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About 12-15 years. They started transitioning to Beretta 92s in 1988 after Lethal Weapon came out the year before and Officer Riggs told them "a lot of old timers" carry "six shooters" as he sprayed his way through the movie with his high capacity Beretta. Then of course there was the Army announcing that it was switching from the 1911 to the Beretta 9mm and the police wanted to imitate the military.
 
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Adam-12 is a great show. I first came across it on TV Land about 12 years ago while visiting my grandmother. Came back and mentioned having seen a show with said title to mom and dad and dad's eyes lit up "that's a great show!".

I now have all 7 seasons.

Even in that show, you can see a transition in police thinking as it moves from season to season. Initially the police in the show are laid back, work with citizens, trust citizens (but are prudently cautious). In later seasons, there is one episode that has a training scene that reenacts the Newhall Shootout (to a T and very accurately) to demonstrate to trainees the errors that can occur in a shootout. They also preach in that episode about the need to be suspicious of everybody.
 
SG-688 said:
This thread needs more photos.



Right side checkered; left side smooth.


In other shots, the holsters on the bench are clearly Lewis pattern cross draws.




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Nice photo catches.

I remember one scene where the know-it-all of the precinct, Officer Wells, (I think) accidentally fires his shotgun in the parkinglot trying to unload it. Apparently there was some kind of flaw in the gun that caused it togo off simply by working the pump. Reed, Malloy and other policemen rush outside, guns drawn, expecting to see somebody shot. Wells demonstrates to them what happen again, BAM, whereas Malloy, with his usual dry wit, politely asks Wells if he would mind not showing them that again.
 
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You realize of course, that many of us are old enough to have seen the show in it's first run. Some of this crowd are probably old enough to be your grand parents. Not me, I'm just a kid! :D

Doug.38PR said:
Adam-12 is a great show. I first came across it on TV Land about 12 years ago while visiting my grandmother. Came back and mentioned having seen a show with said title to mom and dad and dad's eyes lit up "that's a great show!".

I now have all 7 seasons.

Even in that show, you can see a transition in police thinking as it moves from season to season. Initially the police in the show are laid back, work with citizens, trust citizens (but are prudently cautious). In later seasons, there is one episode that has a training scene that reenacts the Newhall Shootout (to a T and very accurately) to demonstrate to trainees the errors that can occur in a shootout. They also preach in that episode about the need to be suspicious of everybody.
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jakenov3 said:
I remember the shotgun discharge in the lot , that was Brinkman. After Malloy gave him the name boom-boom.
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That happened in real life when I was a young policeman in 77th Div. We were in the parking lot preparing to change shifts from PM's to AM watch when one of the AM coppers had an AD (now ND) with an Ithaca. Watch Sgt walks over to the patrolman and asks "what the hell did you do?" Policeman shucks the action and responds with "all I did was..." and had ANOTHER ND. Copper got two 5-day suspensions for 2 separate NDs. Just another night in 77th Div.
Bob
 
OIF2 said:
That happened in real life when I was a young policeman in 77th Div. We were in the parking lot preparing to change shifts from PM's to AM watch when one of the AM coppers had an AD (now ND) with an Ithaca. Watch Sgt walks over to the patrolman and asks "what the hell did you do?" Policeman shucks the action and responds with "all I did was..." and had ANOTHER ND. Copper got two 5-day suspensions for 2 separate NDs. Just another night in 77th Div.
Bob
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Happened in front of me twice, as well. We found a sawed off pump shotgun under the bed, and my partner went to unload it, he did ther whole "shuck the handle and let the shells fly out thing", rather than properly press the button inside the chamber. Gun had been modifed to fire as the pump went forward. he never touched the trigger. BOOM! I was deaf for HOURS.

Another time, I was talking to an old time cop who had his old Model 10 hanging in his locker. The NYPD had gone to spurless hammer DAO revolvers in 1988, so I was interested in the old Model 10. I unloaded the gun and the cop told me to put the bullets back when I was done. I did and went back to getting dressed as we chatted. I hear a hammer cock back and look around my door, and just as I'm about to say "Hey, I loaded that, remember?", he pulled the trigger. BANG. Bullet hit the edge of another cop's locker, so it just made a huge dent. Good thing or he's have to buy the cop a new jacket. The cop looks at me and yells "you loaded it again?!". I yelled back, "you told me too!". he looked at me and mutters " ****, I did". This was at about 2 AM, so nobody around. 30 year grizzled Sgt. pokes his head in and gruffly says "Anybody hit?". We say nope. He closes the door and walks away.

I know I shouldn't have laughed, but I had to pull over like 3 times on the way home I was laughing so hard.
 
Doug.38PR said:
And I wondered if I'd want an Ithaca. Glad I got an 870 instead
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Not to be toooo pedantic: There are three models of the Ithaca 37 trigger.

The first is like Winchester 97 and 12 that has a full-auto style sear lever that will hold and then drop the hammer when the slide goes forward with the trigger held. The kids now call this 'slam fire' but I don't think that's a good description.

Then Ithaca produced a trigger with a disconnector, like the 870, but also a simpler (cheaper) trigger for sporting guns that also found it's way into some police guns. No separate sear lever. No disconnector. Just a hammer and sear. Holding the trigger on that one allows the hammer to follow the slide down without firing, leaving a round in the chamber but no way to shoot it. Start all over.
 
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Back stop?

The 50 yard line on the LAPD Olympic range.



Bob, is that the Hogan's Alley visible behind the berm? Plus another building. Am I missing something or is the back stop a little low? I thought perhaps there was construction during filming, but the other pictures I have of the 50 yard line - but at a different angle - look about the same.

IIRC I've read it's gone now to make room for something else, leaving only 25 yards as the maximum distance, but I may be misremembering that.
 
Doug.38PR said:
And I wondered if I'd want an Ithaca. Glad I got an 870 instead
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I have one of each, and both are fine guns. I have an Ithaca 87 which is a later variation of the 37. I never tried to hold the trigger down while cycling the action, so I never had any slam fire problems.

It looks identical to the ones on Adam-12 except it has an extended magazine and a Hi Viz front sight. Utterly reliable, as is the 870 which is a retired police gun. It's old enough that it only handles 2 3/4" shells.

I'd depend on either one to save my life.
 
Ithaca 37

OIF2 said:
That happened in real life when I was a young policeman in 77th Div. We were in the parking lot preparing to change shifts from PM's to AM watch when one of the AM coppers had an AD (now ND) with an Ithaca. Watch Sgt walks over to the patrolman and asks "what the hell did you do?" Policeman shucks the action and responds with "all I did was..." and had ANOTHER ND. Copper got two 5-day suspensions for 2 separate NDs. Just another night in 77th Div.
Bob
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Brinkman, do you mind if we don't ask you to show us that again.

 
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LSP 972 said:
We had the same restriction, although once you got to a troop you could carry/use speedloaders. Never did have that satisfactorily explained to me.

I hired on in 1978, and was issued Don Hume leather: a "regular" Sam Browne duty belt, Jordan "River" holster, double drop box, and a handcuff case. None of that sissy Velcro; all the items had by-God brass snaps! Including the belt keepers…

I was also issued this (the Hurst stocks came several years later; the gun came with your basic Goncalo Alves "target" stocks that would jam up a speedloader):
Click to expand...

And you live in Zachary...where the ghetto starts literally just down the road in Baker and Scotlandville and goes all the way down into Baton Rouge to Florida St....and you handled business with "just a revolver" and are still here to tell about it ;)

(I stayed at the Best Western right there on hwy 19 in Zachary for 3 years up until the past few months and spent a year driving down through there every day to work in Baton Rouge)
 
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Very nice. Nothing as beautiful as a blued S&W.
I worked at a local TV station in 1970-73, we ran a lot of film shows then. Adam 12, Dragnet, Perry Mason, etc., and my job was to screen each one for flaws, and cut in breaks. So I saw every one several times and still loved it.
I think it was early on that they wore the clam shell holsters for the 6" S&W, which I suppose LAPD used at the time. The whole thing opened up and flopped around, looked like it would be problematic.
I tried the break front later when an LEO, didn't like it.
My first issue weapon was a S&W Model 37, one of the few airweights we had, most got the 36. Then a 4in. Model 10, followed by a 686. Before we switched to Beretta 92s, (yuck), I beat my Supervisor on the dueling plates with that 686, he was using the Beretta. The 9mm just wouldn't knock the steel plates over with one hit most of the time.:D
 
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The show has aged, but I still watch it now and then. Childhood memories.
 
Dave, loved the intro to Crime Story, don't remember that being set back in the 50's , 60's ? I'm going to have to check that out.
 
HA! I just watched a 6th season episode ("Routine Patrol") where a man is robbed and beat up by four cowboys from New Mexico. They run his car off the road, the man gets out, rushes to the trunk and tries to unlock it to get to one of his guns as he has just left a gun range. The men beat him up, take his gun and car.

The man, in typical fashion, is mad and even blaming the police for not being there to help him. "if I had just gotten to my trunk it would have turned out different." He then blames the police for "not keeping hoods like that locked up." Malloy then semi-blames the victim as the crooks now "have his guns" and he should count himself lucky because their next victim might not be. The victim then looks ashamed as the scene fades to the next scene.

What should have been said and what was obvious: If victim had not been forbidden by Kalifornia law to carry a loaded gun on his person and/or inside his car with him IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT STORY.
 
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