I came across this very interesting LA Times story about the manner in which LAPD “investigates” shootings by their own officers.
And I started thinking, “They really had it right in LA Confidential”. The comfortable arrogance and abuse of power, the virtual immunity a bad cop can use so effectively because the system will cover for him, like insurance policy.
It also makes me rethink my opinion of James Ellroy. I’ve read most of his books and I find his worldview is horrifyingly grim and pitiless and savage, and I’ve thought to myself, “I am so glad I don’t live in his world”, even though I enjoy his work a lot. Stories like this make me wonder how much of Ellroy’s world really IS out there and thriving.
Probably a lot more than we’d like to think. Ellroy’s friendly with a lot of LAPD, and those friendships he made with them helped him a lot when he researched the homicide files for My Dark Places. 'Course, Ellroy’s worldview probably wasn’t lightened by his mom being murdered when he was ten. But, I’d reckon that a great deal what he writes about regarding the LAPD is based on “off-the-record” conversations with cops and ex-cops.
As you can imagine, Ellroy has some particularly interesting views on the OJ case. When I attended a lecture of his, someone asked, “Are LA cops racist?” He said, “Do bears shit in the woods?”