Every police officer/deputy sheriff will never forget their graduation from the Police Academy, the entire process from applying for the job, the ridiculous process and the training brings us to that day. Prior to my graduating from the College of the Redwoods I had attended the California Department of Corrections Academy located at the California Rehabilitation Center, Corona California. How things have changed, at one time it was almost impossible to become a police officer or sheriff’s deputy in the major cities of this country. To make sure minorities could get on the job in larger numbers all those stringent requirements are gone. What we have today is an inferior officer compared to what was once a very, very special person to wear a badge or star.
The C.D.C. academy was pretty cool as to the training and what to expect once you as a Correctional Officer become locked in at whatever institution or State Prison you would be assigned to. All of the instructors in both programs were some of the best these agencies had to offer, hundreds of years of experience and backgrounds. The stories and the reflection of their years of service could very well have been a script for a movie. The commonality was that all this training was to familiarize you with the Rules and Regulations of the agencies you would be working for and with, Correctional Officers, Deputy Sheriffs or Police Officer. Reality the Rules and Regulations had little to do with the reality of enforcing the laws either behind the wire or in the free world. “The letter of the law and the Spirit of the law”.
I was blessed to be sent to the College of the Redwoods located in Eureka, California. One of the most beautiful parts of California, the natural feel of the community and the training sessions were the very best. “Humboldt County Mist was a weather condition that greeted you every morning. I was representing the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, agencies from all over the state sent their recruits to the Redwoods, the guys from Berkley California were two characters (after all these years I am sure they have retired). We all stayed at a local motel and would study and prepare for the next days training, it made things easier for all of us who developed study groups. No one washed out of our Academy Class and I can still remember marching into the Auditorium for graduation and receiving my star and credential, I was now P.O.S.T. certified. The purpose of this recollection was the music that was played. It was the ‘Theme to Hill Street Blues’.
Many years later as one of the highest paid private detectives in the United States, I would work for the guy who was the producer of
“The Hill Street Blues”, Steven Bochco! We handled all kinds of issues for Steven and he was great to work for, a real gentleman.
Nazarian and Associates would provide security and body guards for him and his family. As a matter of fact, I, John J. Nazarian was the guy who found his stocker who had made some very serious threats to Steven and his family. This of course was after the L.A.P.D. failed after several attempts to find her. My ability to do the impossible was actually impressive. Impressive in so much that what I had to do to find someone did not include the same silly procedures that the cops had to comply with.
I can see the person to this day, she was a middle aged black female who felt that she had been ripped off in what she described as a “Pitch Meeting”. “Pitch Meetings” are meetings with studio representatives for you and or your agent to talk about ideas about a show or project ideas…… this gal felt stuff that she talked about was in fact used in an episode on one of Bochco’s shows. Note: I too have had many pitch meetings and there is no question this happened to me also… NO QUESTION! Many ideas that are gleaned in those so called pitch meetings are either taken in full or worked around an idea so as to fit what they are trying to do on a show… this is a fact! After a few hours of talking to her and the L.A.P.D.’s Threat Management Unit it was decided that she was more pissed off than an actual threat to the Bochco family. However, you don’t ever know in the early stages of such threats what is real and serious and what is just blowing off steam…… many people in our society are tired of being screwed with on the job and no one ever really knows how close to the edge someone might be.
The Nazarian connection is again, an odd set of circumstances, my relationship with Nancy Reagan and the President, Michele Philips and Cass Eliott, Hill Street Blues and Bochco, Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra and so many other ‘happenstance’ situations of life and in my case how so much ended up being connected in my lifetime of work.
So much of my success as a private investigator was just that, a lifetime of experiences and how it all flowed through my life to be able to call so many of these people, friends or acquaintances of mine. Right, Dave Amato?