{"id":11344,"date":"2023-05-25T05:00:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/?p=11344"},"modified":"2023-05-25T07:02:29","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T14:02:29","slug":"san-pedran-led-fast-furious-life-as-cop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/2023\/05\/25\/san-pedran-led-fast-furious-life-as-cop\/","title":{"rendered":"San Pedran Led Fast & Furious Life as Cop"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Pedro native Mike Powell struggled as a child, took down bad guys as a cop, mingled with the rich and infamous as a bodyguard, and as a private detective, took part in covert operations for the federal government that involved the Mafia.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"It was enough to get him two lengthy News-Pilot<\/i> stories in the early 1980s, the last one a profile when he was only 31. Almost 40 years later, encouraged by his therapist, Powell decided it was enough for a book, the recently published and aptly titled Escaping the Kill Zone: My Journey From LAPD\u2019s Zebra Unit to Undercover Federal Operative in the Las Vegas Mafia<\/i>.<\/p>\n

With an introduction by San Pedro\u2019s Xavier Hermosillo, the former crime reporter for the News-Pilot<\/i>, Escaping the Kill Zone<\/i> is an unflinching, soul-baring memoir of what it was like being a Los Angeles police officer in the notorious \u201cShootin\u2019 Newton\u201d Division in the mid-\u201870s. You know you\u2019re in for a wild ride when the book opens with a 1981 arson attack on his San Pedro home.<\/p>\n

The middle of three boys who all graduated from San Pedro High, Powell, small and dyslexic, was the target of bullies as a child until he was taken under the wings of an uncle, Bobby Wood, a former professional boxer. Powell learned how to fight, gaining the confidence and bravado that served him well later in life, and soon turned the tables on his oppressors. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He graduated in 1970, worked at several odd jobs \u2014 never thinking of a law enforcement career \u2014 and was in the Marine Corps Reserve when, just for a lark, he took and passed the LAPD entrance exam. After graduating from the academy, he was assigned to the Newton Division in crime-ridden South Central Los Angeles, and, a year later, was attached to the plainclothes Zebra unit. It began a short but action-packed four years, with one interlude involving babysitting Charlie\u2019s Angels<\/i> star, Jaclyn Smith.<\/p>\n

It came to a screeching halt, literally. Seriously injured in an accident while pursuing bank robbers who had just killed a security guard, Powell, only 28, was retired with a disability pension in 1979. By that time, he\u2019d already survived four shootouts, earning the reputation of being a \u201ccowboy\u201d for his penchant for sniffing out the bad guys, whether in uniform or undercover, and had been involved in enough blood and mayhem to keep him in therapy for years to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Powell\u2019s \u201cwar stories\u201d fill the book\u2019s first half, but leaving law enforcement not only didn\u2019t get him out of the \u201ckill zone,\u201d it put him in an entirely new one. His bizarre relationship as a bodyguard for porn magnate Larry Flynt results in the firebombing of his San Pedro home. Unknown to Flynt, Powell had made enemies with some of his coworkers. He later becomes involved with yet another porn magnate, Penthouse<\/i> magazine\u2019s Bob Guccione, who offers him $1 million to get dirt on his Hustler <\/i>rival, Flynt. Then there\u2019s Powell\u2019s involvement in a Louisiana murder investigation in 1982. Still a cold case, a Louisiana crime writer read Powell\u2019s book and recently published an update on his website: bayoujustice.com\/2023\/ 02\/41-year-old-pot-box-murder-still-unsolved<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, the book ends in the early \u201880s with the mob and a Las Vegas sting operation. For reference, Powell suggests viewing Martin Scorsese\u2019s acclaimed 1995 movie, Casino<\/i>. Those entanglements with various nefarious characters in the second half of this 242-page book keep Powell on the razor\u2019s edge, a place he admits early on that he enjoys. The pain resulting from the broken back and ruptured disk in the pursuit accident that nearly killed him left Powell addicted to painkillers and alcohol. Still, while he overcame that, adrenaline remained his \u201cdrug of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, no drug could erase the memories of seeing a baby shot to death in front of him during a domestic violence incident, leading to the post-traumatic stress syndrome he suffered from long after his physical injuries had healed. This is a no-holds-barred look at policing, particularly the \u201cold school\u201d version of the LAPD under Ed Davis and Daryl Gates, making it interesting history on top of a self-introspective memoir.<\/p>\n

Put this book, sprinkled liberally with references to people and places of \u201870s and \u201880s San Pedro, on the top of your summer reading list. It\u2019s available at shootinnewton.com<\/a> or Amazon<\/a>. spt<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Pedro native Mike Powell struggled as a child, took down bad guys as a cop, mingled with the rich and infamous as a bodyguard, and as a private detective, took part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":11429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSan Pedran Led Fast & Furious Life as Cop - San Pedro Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/2023\/05\/25\/san-pedran-led-fast-furious-life-as-cop\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Pedran Led Fast & Furious Life as Cop - 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