“LA Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City” by John Buntin
John Buntin’s “LA Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City” is a book that shows how the history of the City of Los Angeles is intricately intertwined with that of the world’s most famous police department, the LAPD. He picks up the story of the city in its early 1920s when two important outsiders arrive – Mickey Cohen, who dropped out of second grade, and William Parker, who would eventually become the Chief of Police. Cohen’s mother lived in Boyle Heights and ran a grocery around the corner from Breed Street Shul. Despite being Jewish, he was rejected by Hebrew School. He would then become a boxer before turning into a mobster. During that time, the politics and commerce of the city were mainly run by the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. This fact further made these two people outsiders to the community. Notably, Buntin sets up Cohen and Parker as opposites in a city that, despite the colorful image on the outside, was rife with all kinds of vices. As the two men clashed over the control of the reasonably new city, Parker develops a particular loath for the mobster’s ethnicity as he believed that the Jews in LA sheltered an unwarranted number of people who criticized. He helped in the evolution of the LAPD. Therefore, the clash of the two men seemed to give way to the Dragnet era LAPD from the LA Confidential police department. This fact changed the history of Los Angeles and set a new path for race relations in the US as well as chart a problematic course for policing in the Country.
The story begins in a rather compelling way. The writer appeals to pathos by painting an image of Los Angeles in the 1920s. He opens the story with the statement, “BEFORE IT WAS A CITY, Los Angeles was an idea.” This statement underscores the use of metaphors to draw the attention of the reader to the story. In essence, the city of Los Angeles existed before the 1920s. However, during that time, it did not seem to have as much activity as it would have as the population increased. However, the first settlers who hoped to build Los Angeles had an idea of what they wanted to make of it. They wanted to make it a great metropolis that would be pure from vices – “a white sport of America” (2) for native Protestants. However, the place turned out to be a complete opposite of this vision as it was rooted in crime. The appeal to the pathos is also seen in the way the author begins the third part, “The combination,” where he states that Mickey Cohen was not supposed to exist in Los Angeles. This is in contrast to the way he describes Parker as an individual who seemed to be celebrated in Los Angeles. Not only did he come from an affluent family, but he seemed to be a typical resident of Los Angeles through his traits. These descriptions set the two individuals in an already clashing path.
The author also paints Parker as an individual who loathed crime. In “The Bad Old Good Old Days,” he appeals to the logos by telling the story how he had flagged down a drunk police reporter, upon taking his to court, he was set free. This incident was “Parker’s first lesson on how policing really worked” (Buntin, 44). As Parker struggled to go up the ranks in the police force due to his honesty, Mickey was going up the ladder in the crime world through dubious and even sadistic ways by killing people and robbing them of their possessions. However, Parker seemed to be working with colleagues who were also scrupulous and in a police department that needed to be protected from the interference from politicians for it to be effective. Their paths eventually crossed when they found themselves going after Chief Horrall. This seems to be the climax of the story that puts two people on opposite sides of the law going after the same goal.
Like most departments during that time, the LAPD had military experience. However, this was not seen in the inside happenings of the police unit. There was widespread corruption in the unit. Eventually, it was decided that if corruption was to be kicked out, the department had to get rid of Mickey Cohen. Mickey Cohen was then incarcerated for tax evasion. However, while this would have been a moment to savor for Bill Parker, several crimes would take place in Los Angeles. These crimes threatened the lifeline of Parker’s job. The attack on Christmas Eve in 1951 started to pit the police department against the Latino Community. It is at this point that the author appeals to the ethos. The fact that Rios was a high ranking member of the Latino community underscored the racial aspect of the fight against crime in Los Angeles under William Parker. The local democrats even condemned the victimization of minority groups. Parker did not take criticism of his way of handling the scandals quite well and went on a purge in the police department. The Dragnet reported on his way of handling things and gave a grim image of the police department.
The court’s ruling that determined that any evidence obtained illegally was not admissible in court eventually let Cohen out of jail. The author describes this as one of the issues that worried Parker. However, Mickey wanted to live a straight life. The visit by Kennedy also marked a turning point in the fight against crime in Los Angeles. The story of the man with a cucumber in his back appeals to not only the pathos, but also the logos. It stamped the fact that there was a serious problem regarding the crimes in Los Angeles, and a need to fight the vice. On the other hand, Cohen was on a path to hoodwink everyone that he had become straight, including by getting saved in Billy Graham’s church much to the dismay of the Jews. The interview with Mike Wallace further pits the two people against each other. Eventually, Cohen was sent to Alcatraz, then to Atlanta Penitentiary, where he was diagnosed with an ulcer. He was released in 1972 and diagnosed with stomach cancer, to which he eventually succumbed. Bill Parker died six years earlier of a heart attack.
Conclusively, the author paints an image of a police department that was deep in corruption and crime. Parker is presented as a sought of a savior that not only gave the department more credibility in the eyes of the residents but one who was also shrewd in the way he tackled crime. He is juxtaposed with Mickey Cohen whose was treacherous and willing to bend the law to suit his criminal needs. However, when the paths of the two men crossed, Parker is seen as an individual who was both brutal and racist. His department used excessive force when dealing with criminals from the minority group, assertions he vehemently denied. In conclusion, by appealing to the pathos, ethos, and logos, the author supports his thesis that the struggle between Mickey Cohen’s gang outfit and the LAPD under Bill Parker changed the history of Los Angeles and set the race relations on to a dangerous new path. It also charted a problematic course for policing in America investigations that were to be done legally.
Works Cited
Buntin, John. LA Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City. Broadway Books, 2010.