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Richard B. Whitaker is a retired Detective III from the Los Angeles Police
Department. During his many years working in law enforcement, he successfully
fulfilled a wide range of roles, including uniformed patrol, plain-clothed special operations, administrative staff, and detective.
In that last capacity, he worked on many assignments, including those involving robbery, homicide, burglary, juvenile crimes,
and auto theft. Mr. Whitaker holds a Bachelor of Independent Studies (BIS) from Brigham Young University, and a Master of
Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Southern California.
According to the book description of his Richard Whitaker’s first novel,
Conflict In Blue Behind the Badge,
is a “fast-paced and thrilling police story, set in 1968, that focuses upon Nicholas Hunter McLean, who begins his career
with the Los Angeles Police Department as a raw recruit who initially views the world through rose-colored lenses, truly believing
that all men are created equal. But his naïveté is quickly shattered when he experiences firsthand the random violence of
South-Central Los Angeles. Any remnants of such unrealistic thinking are torn away when his seasoned partner falls victim
to a brutal cop killer.
McLean soon finds himself in a deadly cat and mouse game, when it becomes clear
that he is now at the top of the brutal killer's hit list. McLean also learns that the only men that he can trust are those
in a hand-picked Special Problems Unit, and if he wants justice, he's going to have to mete it out himself. The unforgettable
details of Conflict In Blue Behind the Badge ring true with the experience of its author, a veteran LAPD street cop. Pick
up a copy today, and you will be quickly caught up in the deadly game of murder, intrigue, and ultimate courage and justice,
as young McLean battles for his life.”
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One reader of Conflict
in Blue said it “is a gritty, intense police drama set in the dark alleyways of 1968 L.A. The book provides
an intimate glimpse into the lives of toughened street cops faced with split-second, life-altering decisions. Whitaker's
writing style will grab you. I felt like I heard the humming of the Plymouth's engines, smelled the gunpowder and tensed
when morally-bereft criminals emerged from the shadows. Whitaker put me right there. It's a great read - a phenomenal
first offering for an up-and-coming author. I highly recommend it.”
From the History of
the Los Angeles Police Department (lapdonline.org) Because the City lacked a jail, suspects were confined in a county facility in which
cells were conspicuously absent. To overcome this inconvenience, prisoners were chained to massive logs in the jail yard.
Sheriff James Barton was assassinated
in 1857, followed by a wholesale roundup of suspects, 11 of whom legally departed this life on the gallows. Vigilantes, however,
disposed of the actual murderer.
During the 1860s, there was such a
climate of violence in Los Angeles, that a terrified group of residents, fearing for their lives and property, appealed to
their French homeland for protection. The French government actually deployed troops in Los Angeles! How long they stayed
and why their "occupation" was tolerated by the United States government is not known.
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