Raymond bombing
Someone asks: "Why is the Harry Raymond bombing important?"
Good question.
In 1937, Clifford Clinton, the owner of Clifton's Cafeterias, was named to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury after a long dispute with the city's health officer. Clinton led an investigation of Mayor Frank Shaw's administration, alleging that "vice and petty crime are rampant in the city and under the protection of public officers," The Times said. Clinton's home was bombed, but no one was injured.
However, Raymond, a private detective who was employed by Clinton's reform movement, nearly died from the bombing and it was soon discovered that his home had been under police surveillance at the orders of Capt. Earle Kynette, head the LAPD's intelligence unit.
The repercussions of the bombing and Kynette's conviction in the blast touched off the recall of Mayor Shaw, who was defeated (despite a Times editorial supporting him) by Judge Fletcher Bowron. In the ensuing reform movement that cleaned out City Hall, the LAPD lost many of its top officers, who were linked to corruption.
