50 Quotes by Joseph Wambaugh

Of course, the happy shutterbug couldn't have known that his picture of a dildo keel would soon inspire a plot leading to murder and ensnare human beings like dolphins in a gill net. For he was just a San Diego cop who drove a boat, not a true man of the sea. Not one who understands in his soul that the actions of people are like the tides that chase the moon but invariably come crashing back, with all manner of thrashing things roiling in their foamy wake.

I would say morale is already crippled, ... And that means you will have less proactive police work. You'll have cops out there who'll say, 'just keep your eyes down, answer your calls, get your pension and retire,' and that's the worst thing that could happen.

There was a lot going on in LA with the Rodney King riots. I was living in San Diego at that time. It didn't get much coverage there.

The scandal, I can tell you for sure, is much smaller than the press would lead you to believe, ... It's driven by the L.A. Times, which hates the administration of the LAPD and has for many years. Part of the fault of that lies with LAPD, for not cozying up to the Times when it should have. I think a police department must give access to the press, and be open with the press, and the LAPD was not for many years, and they're paying the price for it now.

The O.J. Simpson case, they had no understanding of that DNA evidence, and didn't want to.

As a cop, I dealt with every kind of bum and criminal. They all have more integrity than some Hollywood people.

You've got people who are looking at DNA evidence and other evidence like that and they're ignoring it.

It`s corruption never been systemic, because a fish rots from the head

Civil servants take forever to do anything.