Cliff Dektar was a copy boy for The Times in 1943. He worked for the Mirror from 1950 to 1956, when he left for ABC-TV.
On Jan. 2, 1951, Photographer Bud Gray and I were working the overnight Mirror radio car 91... after 2:30 a.m. the streets really are quiet until around 5 a.m. We had stopped at Hollywood Receiving Hospital and were headed north on Wilcox...I was driving.
The police radio came alive...69 meet 66 at Hollywood and Vine. Well, 69 was a sergeant and 66 was a district radio car and this was a most unusual call at 4:30 a.m. ... so I decided to drive by since it was only a few blocks away.
Amazing... standing on the corner by the Broadway Hollywood was Mickey Cohen... wearing his hat as usual... and waving his hands with an LAPD Officer Tommy Hutton. He was agitated.
I nudged Bud, made a U-turn on Vine and parked across the street in front of the Owl drugstore.
I turned off the ignition and strolled across Vine and listened... no note taking.
"If you'll take off your badge and come into the alley and fight me fair and square, I'll give you my wife and my car," growled Mickey.
(The blue Cadillac and his wife were parked a few feet away).
Officer Hutton had written Mickey a traffic citation for not proceeding on a green light--he had stopped to purchase a newspaper.
Mickey refused to sign the ticket.
The sergeant arrived and explained to Mickey that by signing, he did not admit guilt, only to appear.
"If you don't sign, Mickey, we will take you to jail," the sergeant explained.
Finally, Mickey signed, walked and entered his car, and drove south on Vine.
Meanwhile Bud Gray had set his Speed Graphic so he could shoot from the hip without focusing.
Bud shot four photos... all were excellent.
We jumped back into the radio car, called the office and sped to 2nd and Spring with the photos.
By the time reporters in the police press room heard about the incident, everyone was gone, Mickey, the police and the few spectators.
We had a real beat... four good photos and details... all Page 1.
I thought of how wild Aggie Underwood, city editor of the Herald-Express, would be, as the Mirror guys had beat her team, again.
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Larry Harnisch. The leading Black Dahlia expert and a collaborator in the 1947project, Harnisch has been a copy editor at The Times since 1988. He has appeared on many TV shows discussing the Dahlia case, notably "James Ellroy's Feast of Death."
Join him for a spin through old Los Angeles in the Mirror's radio car. Keep your eyes open for Mickey Cohen and Tempest Storm. It's quite a ride.
The reporter's badge belonged to Sid Hughes (1908-1958), legendary reporter who worked at nearly every newspaper in Los Angeles.
Keith Thursby. Keith has been an editor at The Times in news, sports and design since 1986. The Rams moved to St. Louis on his first day as assistant sports editor of the paper's Orange County edition. He grew up in Norwalk and lives in Irvine.
Cliff Dektar was a copy boy for The Times in 1943. He worked for the Mirror from 1950 to 1956, when he left for ABC-TV.
Mickey refused to sign the ticket.
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