Word: reddin
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...nearly every other way, Reddin is a very un-coplike...
...Reddin is probably also one of the few chiefs who never thought of becoming a cop until he was 24, almost middle age for a rookie. The son of a flamboyant carnival tycoon who made more than $1,000,000 building amusement parks in Europe and Australia, Reddin was born in New York City. The family moved to Holdenville, Okla., when his father scented more money in petroleum than suckers-and suckered himself into penury. "While Indians were discovering oil under just about every campfire pit," observes Reddin, "Dad managed to drill more dry holes than anyone else...
After a four-year hitch in the Navy, he found a job at a gas station in Los Angeles in 1938. When he was alone in the station one night, a stickup man shoved a gun in his back, then took $12 from the till. The police answered Reddin's call in what seemed no more than seconds, capturing the holdup man. Impressed, Reddin began asking questions, discovering that a rookie cop commanded $170 a month-$40 more than he was making. That was all he needed to know. In 1941 he became a cop (today he makes...
...Reddin prides himself on his ability to work coolly under stress, as he did in August 1965, when he was called in at the last minute to devise the strategy that eventually quieted a ravaged city. Seventeen months after taking charge, he cannot hide his enthusiasm at being chief. "I love the challenge," he says. "It scares hell out of me, but I love it." He adds: "This is the year...
...Reddin is not the only chief cop in the U.S. trying to adapt the police establishment to the demands of the '60s. Among the others...