Deputy
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I don't remember the year, but the female wrestler Chyna had an event scheduled at Universal Citywalk. She was signing pictures or a book, I can't remember exactly. But we had a large crowd gathered waiting for her to arrive. She was really late, and the crowd was getting bigger and more upset that she wasn't there yet. A supervisor who was in charge of the event found out that she was going to be coming from an appearance at The Tonight Show. The supervisor sent a deputy down to The Tonight Show to escort her back to the Citywalk right after she got off stage with Jay Leno. The deputy actually went into the studio and was waiting offstage for Chyna to come off the couch. The deputy said he told her and her driver, “You have to get to Universal right now, and I'm going to escort you straight there.” The deputy got her up to the signing right away without incident. But these are the kinds of crazy things that happened on a nightly basis. Chyna was very nice and took pictures with all the deputies. She died in 2016 from a combination of drugs and alcohol.
One night I'm at the back gate of the Citywalk talking with the security officer. Who drives up for her performance for the night but Stevie Nicks. I can't remember if it was a solo performance or if she was performing as the lead singer of Fleetwood Mac. It was surprising that some celebrities arrive at events in a limousine and some who live in the area just drive their own car. Stevie Nicks was driving to her concert in her own car, alone. She got to the gate and asked how to get to the Amphitheatre for her performance. I told her I would escort her down to the backstage entrance.
I was about sixteen years old, and my mom and dad had taken me to the movies in Henrietta, NY just outside of Rochester. My dad pointed to a guy in the lobby getting popcorn and said, "That's Bob Forster, a famous actor." I didn't think that much of it at the time. As he became more and more famous for roles in Police Story and then Jackie Brown, I started following his career. His hometown was Rochester, NY It might have been for the movie Jackie Brown, but either way, I'm on my foot beat walking the CityWalk and who comes walking from the parking lot but Robert Forster. He parked his car in the public parking lot to attend a movie premiere at the Universal Amphitheater. I walked him to the theatre and talked with him for a minute. I told him about the time my dad pointed him out at the theatre in Rochester. I recently saw him on a plane from L.A. to NY. Some of my friends and I were on our way to our annual pilgrimage to NY during the Christmas season. My friend sat right next to Robert for the whole trip. I said hi to him and reminded him how we first met, and he asked if I ever got back to Rochester. I asked him the same, and he said he gets back there a couple of times a year.
Meeting Will Smith was a great pleasure. He is a real nice, humble man. We had a special request to meet him at the back of the movie theaters at the CityWalk. Myself and another deputy with some security officers met him at the back door. He had on a baseball cap and a big coat. He explained that he liked to slip in the back of the theatre to see the reaction of the crowd as they watch the movie. We escorted him to the proper theatre, but not really escorting so that anyone would know that he was anybody. And when he pulled that ball cap down over his eyes, you wouldn't know it was anyone well-known. When the movie was over, he slipped out the back door to an awaiting car, and he was gone.
Michael Jackson did the same thing. I can't remember what movie it was, but he was not so inconspicuous. He had worn some kind of face mask and had quite an entourage. We waited for the movie to start, and he was escorted up to a balcony section that was closed off to the public so he could see the crowd watching the movie below, but no one knew he was there.
On the top floor of the Citywalk were several clubs and restaurants, one of which was B.B. King’s. It was a great Jazz Club that always had famous Jazz musicians stopping by or performing as part of the schedule. It was a nice place with a great stage. Once a year, BB King would show up, and it was a big deal. I don't know how many clubs he had. If I remember right, they said he tried to visit them all once a year. I know the employees always looked forward to him coming. He would tip each of the staff $100 on his visit. I never met him personally, but I know everyone loved him, and everyone who had met him said he was the nicest man.
The craziest thing Universal did was have Halloween Horror Nights. This lasted about ten days or so before Halloween. It was every night before Halloween inside the theme park. They had guys dressed up with chainsaw motors. Guys would jump out from behind trees with these damn chain saws scaring the hell out of people. Sometimes they did too good a job. People would get startled, and they would punch the theme park employee, and then we would have people being arrested. A lot of people got drunk before or while they were attending the Horror Nights, which led to more trouble. For the ten days or so they put this on, they had to hire about twenty deputies on overtime each night. I think they paid in the neighborhood of $30,000 in overtime for the week. But they packed them in for Horror Nights. There was so much overtime that we couldn't supply enough personnel. So we hired from outside stations. And they hired motor officers from all over the county. The rest of the county thought it was great to work overtime at Universal. But for those of us that worked the unit as a regular, the Horror Nights were a pain in the neck. Maybe that was more my take on it. The overtime was amazing. You could work 10 or 12 hours of overtime each of the Horror Nights, that you weren't working your regular shift. And if you worked the day shift, you could work more of it.
New Year's eve was another crazy time at the CityWalk. It wasn't New York Times Square, but they did their best to create the same type of atmosphere. Even now when they switch coverage from NY to L.A. they will cut to coverage at the Citywalk. Everyone is packed in, and there is no moving through that crowd. This is another night where they hire overtime deputies from all over the county. There will be SWAT teams, K9 teams, special enforcement teams, and regular deputies stationed all over Universal. A couple of times, my wife and I were able to work the overtime on New Year's eve together. Many of the posts are on the top floor or rooftop looking down on the action because there is no way you can move around.
There were never any major problems during the New Year’s Eve celebrations. After 2 am and the bars closed, we would have the usual fights and arrests we had every weekend. But during these special events, we always had plenty of coverage with the overtime deputies. The problems happened when it was not a special event, and nothing had been scheduled. And then all of a sudden we would find out there was an event scheduled on the Citywalk or at the Amphitheater, and no one on the Sheriff's department side knew anything about it. Usually, we had weeks if not months prior notice to special events where they expected a large crowd. Usually, there would be several meetings determining what resources were needed regarding public safety.
Every year Shaq O’Neil had an event on the Citywalk. It was a thrill to meet him and actually talk to him. When I met Shaq he was already a reserve officer. Shaq loved the police and always had time to talk and spend time with officers. After one of Shaq's annual basketball events, three other deputies and I walked him to his car in the parking garage at Universal. Before he left the Citywalk at his prompting, we took a bunch of pictures. He really is a nice man. Sometimes you never know. I had always liked Arnold Schwarzenegger and not really cared for Lou Ferrigno. We had to provide security for Arnold at some event on the Citywalk. He was the most unfriendly, rude person you would ever want to meet. Maybe he had a bad day. But he definitely showed no signs of being a supporter of the police. On the other hand, Lou Ferrigno was the most humble, kind person you would ever meet. And he was interested in what you had to say. His dad had been with the NYPD, and his support for law enforcement was obvious.
Joseph Nasser, a producer friend of mine, was a reserve for the department along with Lou Ferrigno. I was sent to Mr. Nasser's house to assist with a promotional video they were making for the reserve recruitment unit. After filming, Mr. Nasser provided lunch for me, Lou and Joe's kids. We had a great time, and I had the best time talking with Lou. So many
years after his competitive bodybuilding days, and he is still strict with his diet. He wanted to know exactly what he was eating at lunch. It was all plant-based as I think back on it. Lou was still in fantastic shape.
My two stints at Universal, first as a deputy then as a sergeant, I have to say were the best years I had on the Sheriff's department. Having spent so many years in patrol and loving patrol, it was a nice change to still be in a patrol assignment, but now one that was almost entirely a foot beat. And not any foot beat, but at one of the premier entertainment centers of the country. Walking and talking with all the restaurant, store, and theme park employees was a pleasure. I met many that became close friends even to this day. It was fun taking pictures with and talking to tourists from all over the world. Watching the street entertainers and enjoying the nightlife while getting paid was a great gig. One minute you're walking the Citywalk. The next your part of a detail along with the state department guarding Benjamin Netanyahu, as he takes a private tour of the backlot. That was an interesting day. They didn't close down the backlot tours. But Netanyahu got a private tour car to take him and his family on the backlot tour. We had a Sheriff's car following. On the tram with Netanyahu were armed members of the state department and Netenyahu's own security detail who were packing submachine guns. Fun times, I have many fond memories of my patrol days at Universal.
SERGEANTS EXAM
I had never wanted to promote to sergeant; in fact, I probably was a sergeant’s nightmare at times. My good friend and sergeant at Universal told me that he wanted me to promote, so I would have to supervise someone like myself. Top step sergeant’s pay is $1,000 more a month than top step deputy’s pay. I figured if I retired at 75% of my pay, my sergeant’s portion of retirement alone would be $750 every month. So, that was my motive for wanting to promote the last couple of years of my career. A group of us started studying for the Sergeant’s Exam.
In the early days of the department, you would take the Sergeant’s Exam, and after the written, oral and some other factors you would be listed as eligible for promotion on a numerical list. If you were number 75 you would be promoted after 74, and so on. Then there was a female on the Sergeant’s List that powers that be didn't want to be promoted. When her number was coming up, they would end the list and announce a new test. She went to court, and the court determined that the department had in fact discriminated against the female applicant based on her sex. The court invoked something called injunctive relief. The applicant had to be promoted, and the department would have to revamp the promotion process with court oversight.
Before they started giving the exam again, the court approved the banding process. Whereby the eligible candidates for promotion would be grouped into bands, everyone in band one would have to be promoted before anyone in band two could be promoted. In my opinion, this allowed for more discrimination than the old system. The department had options in their discriminatory ambitions. They could have a very small band one, and then a huge band two or three. When they promote from a band, the only requirement is to promote from the band until that band is exhausted, but you can pick anyone you want from the band. If you have a band of 200 and you get 40 of your buddies in the band, you can just promote your buddies and nobody else. Now, there was a based on sex remedy. The court did order that a certain percentage of promotions had to be female. So in that regard, it prevented the department from not promoting females. But they could make sure they got their females in the band, which would allow them to discriminate against individual females. The department was under the court consent decree for over 20 years, so I have to lay some of this groundwork as I talk about promoting to sergeant.
I took the Sergeant’s Exam and did pretty good. As in the example I gave earlier, the department created a small band one of about 20 candidates and then there was a large band two and three. I was in band two along with another 100 or so candidates. But the rumor was that all of band two would get promoted. Sometimes these lists would last two years, so the numbers could move quickly. Remember, we have about 10,0000 sworn positions.
My new-found positive attitude and influence had me developing some powerful relationships within the department. And working at the Universal Sub-Station allowed me the opportunity to help quite a few power players out when it came to their entertainment appetites. Several times a week executives at some level would call and want some assistance with either discounts, or free admission into the Universal Theme Park. Many times I was allotted VIP complimentary passes into the park, and I would use these when certain Commanders or other similar level executives wanted to bring their family into the park. The department would promote groups of sergeants at a time—ten here, fifteen there. So after a few lists for promotion to sergeant came out and I wasn't on the list, I was a little peeved.
Prone as I was never to follow the chain of command and go over the heads of my direct supervisors, I went down to the Sheriff's headquarters to meet with assistant Sheriff Stonich. While I was waiting outside his office, a commander came by and said, "Cliff, are you here to get an award or something?"
I told him, "No, I'm here to see the assistant Sheriff about this promotion process." He happened to be my Commander for region two which covered West Hollywood Station and the Universal Sub-station. I had arranged for this Commander and many of his family to gain entry into Universal and special events on numerous occasions. So I was happy that he came by and saw me. I wanted to send a message: I've done quite a bit for you. Leave me behind, and I will spill the beans on some of your activities.
He did make some valid points. He asked me, "Cliff, have you gone to the Deputy Leadership Institute?" I told him no, and he asked me, "Have you put in for an operations unit?" I told him that I hadn't. I thanked him for his advice and direction, and that I would do those things. I relayed my conversation to the Assistant Sheriff and just asked if he saw my name on a specialized unit list, to please consider me.
I applied to attend the Deputy Leadership Institute (DLI), which was a one or two week deal. I was chosen to go and really loved it. It was all about leadership skills, positivity, and motivation. Many of the books they had at the program were books I had read on my own. Some of these books were books I was exposed to during my real estate seminars and training. Some were books that had been suggested reading by Tony Robbins. And many were new. We would read these books on our own, and then discuss them during the class. The class was conducted in a facilitation style. We had group discussions led by a facilitator, and we would have break out groups. We would come up with discussion points, write them on a flip chart, and bring our findings back to the big group. Each person got the chance in their group to be the spokesperson. I learned a lot about facilitation concepts just by attending. I was in DLI class 3, so this was a relatively new concept of training adopted by the department.
We watched many movies. Some war pictures like 12 O'clock High were perfect for a leadership discussion. Since I was already into personal development, I was overjoyed to be getting paid to learn more skills which would help me grow as a person on and off duty. After the training, I attended the facilitator training so I could be a DLI facilitator. Many of the DLI facilitators were sergeants and lieutenants. So joining this group was another avenue to develop relationships with people who could do things for me.
I found it funny that I had put in for several specialized unit jobs and never was chosen. All of a sudden, I got a call asking if I wanted to go to the Equity Training Unit. I had applied to the same unit for a different position, so I had interviewed there but was not chosen for that particular position. The position they picked me for was to facilitate the court imposed sexual harassment training which came out of the consent decree as one of the results of the Sergeant’s Exam lawsuit.
For over a year, the training of department executives had been conducted by professional consultants from the firm "Price Waterhouse Coopers." Part of the consent decree agreement would be for the consulting group to dev
elop and implement a train the trainers' curriculum for the sexual harassment policy. My experience attending and becoming a facilitator for the Deputy Leadership Institute helped me get the job at the Equity Training Unit.
After we started the training, I understood why they asked certain deputies to be part of the training. There were quite a few applicants for the position. But they knew what they were doing when they picked certain people for the position. I think part of the reason they picked me was my comedy experience. I had been seen performing comedy at numerous department functions. They knew I had no trouble speaking in front of people. They knew of my experience facilitating for the DLI program. What they were most concerned with was finding applicants who could handle the amount of resistance that would be experienced trying to implement the training. Wow, was there a lot of resistance.
The consultants handled the training of executives, and we were trained to implement the training to the rank of sergeant and below. The consultant firm was getting $50,000 a month to work with the department in designing new testing for promotion. They had been working with the department for over 15 years on this. The department had already paid out 20 million dollars for this lawsuit by the time our group came in to implement the sexual harassment policy. People came into the training really pissed off. Right from the time, they came in the door. Some people had to be turned away and sent back to their unit to be rescheduled for another time. I was not prepared for the degree of pushback on this policy.