Anyone know where I can find information about the real life "Hat Squad"? All I know is that they were LA Cops back in the 50's who used to beat the crap out of mobsters trying to move into town.
Google Search: "Hat Squat" ~65,000 hits
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Hat+Squad%22";
There were lots of "squads" like this in the 50s and 60s in many police forces in the Western World. Here in my home state, in Australia, we had the "Bodgie squad." They were hand-picked tough cops that were sent out onto the streets in rough neighborhoods to beat the crap out of trouble makers, teen thugs and the like. The word "bodgie" is an old Australian slang word for a teenage trouble-maker with greased-up hair. The squad's existence (always denied) was quietly disbanded in the early 1970s.
shareGee superdave, I did try your suggestion and googled "Hat Squat" (sic) and all I got was something tellin' me to go piss in my hat !! Where did I go wrong ??
:-)
They were also known during the 30's and 40's for their harassment, brutality, and unfair treatment to Black Men anywhere in Los Angeles, especially in the legendary Central Avenue Area.
"OOO...I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"
This type of police work was portrayed in LA Confidential. It existed elsewhere. The entire Philadelphia police force from the 1950's onward was known for its brutality, usually supported by its citizens. Its best-known Commissioner, Frank L. Rizzo, once bragged that his police force could invade Cuba. Later, in May, 1985, the infamous MOVE confrontation and conflagration became world news. Now, the police force is being reorganized into street-patrols in the toughest areas to better combat Killadelphia.
(Rizzo later served the city as a two-time mayor and ran for election three more times before being stricken by a heart attack in his campaign headquarters in 1991.)
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
yeah, say what you will about the LAPD they never felt the need to call in an air strike on south central
yea tho I walk thru the valley of Death, I fear no evil for the Shadows are on station over me.
True that. The Commissioner of the LAPD in 1992 had been Commissioner of the Phila. Police Force. This was at the time of the riots after the verdict finding the officers that beat Rodney King not guilty. It think he knew better than to order an air strike.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
as far as I khow that's the same piece of informantion I got also,, I would have to look it up on the internet and see what I come up with .
are you going to bark all day little doggie,, or are you going to bite
It seems to be a pretty common L.A. noir trope to have some kind of anti-mob goon squad, but actual history indicates L.A. was as mob-infested as any city. Between Bugsy Siegel, Jack Dragna and Mickey Cohen, L.A. wasn't exactly free from organized crime, and all of those guys were well-connected with mob figures outside of L.A.
I'm sure every city of any size had some kind of elite goon squad but they probably were used to enforce existing corrupt arrangements with whatever gangster was in power versus trying to keep "the Mafia" out, in addition to other various and sundry repression and brutality was called for.