Every now and then a story comes along that grabs your attention. The truly exceptional ones, the tales that resonate on several levels over the span of years, are a rarity. I want to share one that I first heard over twenty years ago, when I was a young man struggling through the process of becoming a police officer. Its lesson has implications well beyond law enforcement, but I’ll warn you now – it’s violent.
It is known as the Newhall Incident and it occurred in 1970 just outside of Los Angeles. The story begins …