Good-bye and good luck, Hermosa Beach Sgt. Paul Wolcott
I first came to know Paul Wolcott while standing outside the Hermosa Beach police station in November 1995.It was the day before Thanksgiving. Model Linda Sobek was missing. The media had surrounded the department. Wolcott embarked on his career as his agency's spokesman -- the man who talked to print reporters and in front of the TV cameras.
During the next 13 years, I spoke to Wolcott almost every day. He became one of the South Bay's best public information officers. He decided to retire earlier this month.
Wolcott's job was to tell you -- through me -- what was going on crime-wise in Hermosa Beach. He made himself fully available, allowing me and my fellow Daily Breeze reporters to call him at all hours of the day.
Sometimes I reached him as he was sitting in a restaurant with his wife. He didn't mind and I guess she didn't either. I called him a couple times when he was relaxing on Main Street at Disneyland, one of his favorite spots to people watch.
Nothing is more difficult than trying to write a story with little information. Wolcott's press statements contained plenty of facts about what had happened. They were well-written, full of details and free of police jargon that has to be translated into English.
Wolcott understood the news and reporters. He knew how to provide a good quote to make articles more interesting for readers. He displayed a positive personality, and anticipated what I was going to ask before I asked it. He was always prepared with an answer.
I consulted him whenever I had a question about police procedures. I sometimes even told him when I was working on an exclusive story, trusting him that no one would find out until it was published. Sometimes we just talked about anything.
Wolcott and I have talked several times about that eerie moment when we were both in a Torrance courtroom to hear the guilty verdict for Roger Hoan Brady, who killed Manhattan Beach police Officer Martin Ganz in 1993. Although the court was overflowing with police officers, it was silent as Brady trudged across the room to take his seat at the defense table. The only sound that could be heard was the clink of the shackles. It was scary, like a "dead man walking," just like a movie.
Wolcott knew firsthand about the risks officers take on the job. He lost some service time in the mid 1980s when he was seriously injured. In 1982, a drunk driver crashed into him and his partner, Gary Moss, on Aviation Boulevard. Moss died.
Wolcott was lucky to survive. He underwent a dozen surgeries and took a job as an assistant to former Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler.
But he wanted to return to Hermosa Beach. He rehabilitated, recovered and went back to work as a cop in 1985.
"That's all I ever wanted to do, was become a police officer," Wolcott told me in a 2002 story recalling the crash.
Now that Wolcott's moved on, he's taken on a position working behind the scenes with a major media outlet.
I'm sorry to see him go. Reporters have to maintain a distance and ask some tough questions of their sources without becoming too friendly. But I consider Wolcott a colleague. I know him better and probably talked to him more than many of the people around me in the newsroom.
I wish him the best and thank him for all his years of service, and for helping me do my job.
A biography and a story I did on him a few years ago follows.
From the Hermosa Beach PD:
Sergeant Paul A. Wolcott a 28 year veteran of the Hermosa Beach Police Department will be retired effective at the end of business on 10-3-08. Sergeant Wolcott will be concluding a law enforcement career that began in 1978 when Sergeant Wolcott joined the Redondo Beach Police Department as a Reserve Police Officer. Towards the end of 1979 Sergeant Wolcott was hired as a full time Police Officer with the Inglewood Police Department where he served in the patrol division.
In 1981, Sergeant Wolcott was recruited to join the Hermosa Beach Police Department. Sergeant Wolcott was assigned to the patrol division an assigned to work with Officer Tommy Thompson. After developing an expertise in traffic enforcement and traffic related issues, Sergeant Wolcott was assigned to the Traffic Division and along with Officer Gary Moss were sent to the LAPD Motorcycle Training school. Best friends and now motor partners, Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott were assigned to the night shift weekend traffic schedule.
Towards the end of their shift, on a Saturday night in June 1982, Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott were posted on their police motorcycles at the intersection of Aviation Blvd. & Ocean Street. The officers were watching for DUI drivers and reckless driving patterns. Two motorcyclists were spotted racing up Aviation Blvd. from PCH. (It was later (5 years) learned that the men were fleeing from an armed robbery that had occurred in an adjacent city). With Officer Wolcott on the left and Officer Moss to his right the chase began. The fleeing motorcycles were speeding along at about 60 MPH. Officer Wolcott and Officer Moss were attempting to catch up with the intent of stopping the racing motorcycles.
Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott crested the rise on Aviation at Prospect in their attempt to catch up to the speeding motorcycles. At this same time, coming from the opposite direction was (convicted) drunk driver and small time drug dealer, Nigel Geoffrey Brewster of Torrance. Brewster had spent the night partying and drinking with friends at a Manhattan Beach bar. He was now on his way to Hermosa Beach. As Brewster headed west on Aviation at Harper he made a sudden decision to get some food at the Jack in the Box. Without signaling, Brewster made a sudden left turn across the path of Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott. The officer's motorcycles slammed into the Ford at about 60 MPH. Officer Wolcott colliding into the passenger side door and Officer Moss crashing into the right front fender. There was no time to alter course or even slow down. Their bodies were thrown 90 feet through the air and they tumbled down the street.
Officer Moss was thrown head first into the curb at Aviation and Harper. In the initial collision Officer Moss suffered a compound fracture to his leg. When he hit the curb he suffered a massive skull fracture and went into cardiac arrest.
Officer Wolcott was thrown into the middle of the street and sustained multiple fractures. Fractures to his back, a fractured pelvis, fractured arms, wrists, knees and multiple compound fractures to his left hand. He also fractured both knees and eventually had his right patella removed.
The drunk driver, Nigel Geoffrey Brewster was left unscathed. Passengers in his car were slightly injured.
A citizen watched the collision and immediately attempted to render aid to the fallen officers. He utilized a radio on one of the police motorcycles to call for help. The citizen radioed words that no police officer ever wants to hear over the air, "Officer Down". The response was immediate.
Hermosa Beach Officer Phil Keenan was the first on scene followed shortly by Redondo Beach Officer Paul Burch. Officer Burch was also an RN and had worked the E.R. at the old South Bay Hospital. Because of the grave condition of Officer Moss, Officer Burch and Officer Keenan made the heroic decision to immediately transport Officer Moss in a police car to the hospital. Once at the hospital Officer Moss was revived and placed on life support. On June 24, 1982 Officer Moss died from his injuries. He became the only police officer to die in the line of duty in the over 100 year history of the Hermosa Beach Police Department.
Officer Wolcott was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance. Multiple surgeries were performed to correct the massive injuries that Officer Wolcott had suffered. For two months and additional surgeries Officer Wolcott remained in the hospital in traction. At the beginning of the 3rd month in the hospital Officer Wolcott was transported to Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood where he began intensive rehabilitation and physical therapy. Officer Wolcott had to re learn how to walk and use his hands. After three months in the hospital Officer Wolcott was released and sent home to continue his rehabilitation.
In June 1983, his rehabilitation incomplete, Officer Wolcott was retired from the police department on a disability pension. In the ensuing years, Paul Wolcott continued with his rehabilitation, additional surgeries and the desire to return to police work. The effort paid off. Three years after the collision that claimed the life of his best friend and shattered most of the bones in his own body, Paul Wolcott returned to full duty in July 1985.
With the continuation of his career Sergeant Wolcott excelled working every assignment available including a return to motorcycle duty. Sergeant Wolcott worked as a Field Training Officer, Watch Commander, Detective, WESTNET Narcotics Detective, Emergency Response Team (SWAT) member, Honor Guard, Motor Officer, Motor Sergeant, Patrol Sergeant, Background Investigator, Training Manager, FTO Sergeant and Internal Affairs Sergeant. For the past 13 years Sergeant Wolcott served as the Hermosa Beach Police Department Public Information Officer, and concluded his career as the head of the Hermosa Beach Police Department Professional Standards Unit and Detective Bureau.
For the last two years Sergeant Wolcott along with Chief Greg Savelli and the senior management of the department have worked tirelessly in improving the department and cultivating the next generation of department leadership. As a team the management staff of the department has introduced a national accreditation program to the department as an ongoing long term project that will continue to improve the department's performance and will be administered for the next several years.
Sergeant Wolcott joins several other Hermosa Beach Police Department members who have recently retired from the department and their long law enforcement careers. Other members have lateral transferred to other departments or new careers in the private and academic sector.
Currently the department is actively recruiting for the vacant Captains position. 30 year veteran Tommy Thompson has been promoted to Lieutenant. Don Jones and Robert Higgins have been promoted to Sergeant. Two additional sergeants' promotions should take place within the next month. In all the Hermosa Beach Police Department has seen the departure of about 127 years of experience an institutional knowledge within the last month.
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A day they can't forget in Hermosa Beach
Daily Breeze July 28, 2002
Author: Larry Altman
FATALITY: Twenty years ago, officer Gary Moss was killed in the line of duty. His partner was critically injured.
It was a shift like any other: two young motorcycle officers looking for speeders and drunken drivers in Hermosa Beach.
Gary Moss and Paul Wolcott were 20 minutes from heading home June 20, 1982, when two motorcyclists sped by them.
In moments, Moss would become the first and only Hermosa Beach police officer killed in the line of duty. Wolcott would spend months in the hospital and years in rehabilitation before making it back to the force.
Last month marked the 20th anniversary of Moss ' death.
"Every day, I see Gary Moss ' memorial," Wolcott said. "You can't help but think how different would it be had he survived. He had a tremendous amount of potential."
Wolcott , then 27, and Moss , 26, partners who worked, hung out and double-dated together, followed the speeding motorcyclists northbound along Aviation Boulevard, next to what was then The Boys Market, and now is a Pic `N' Save.
Suddenly, driver Nigel Brewster, then 24 and of Redondo Beach, made a sudden, unsignaled left turn in front of them to drive into the Jack in the Box at Harper Avenue.
"We didn't have time to do anything but hit the car," Wolcott recalled.
Both officers' motorcycles smashed into the Ford Fiesta. The crash threw the men about 90 feet.
Wolcott , his wrists broken, his pelvis fractured, his left hand and kneecaps shattered, his back broken, looked over and saw Moss . His fellow officer lay twisted in the gutter, his skull fractured and his leg broken.
A passer-by grabbed a police radio and told the department of the accident.
"All of a sudden we heard this strange voice, `You better get up here fast because there's two officers hurt,' " said Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan, then a Hermosa Beach officer.
When they arrived they found chaos. Wolcott was sitting up, unable to move. Keenan remembers Wolcott looking up and saying, "Hi, Phil, how you doin'?"
Nearby, Brewster and his three passengers were trapped in his car.
"It was a mess," Keenan said. "There were motorcycle parts and guns and badges all over the street."
Fearing Moss might die before paramedics arrived, Redondo Beach police officer Paul Burch and Keenan rushed him in a patrol car to South Bay Hospital, now the Beach Cities Health Center. A nurse who had stopped to help joined them and screamed all the way as the officers raced with their siren blaring.
Firefighters and paramedics soon arrived at the scene, rescuing Brewster and his passengers and aiding Wolcott .
Moss , on the force for 15 months after two years as a reserve, never regained consciousness and died four days later. Doctors removed his organs for transplants.
About 400 officers attended a memorial service outside Hermosa Beach City Hall. Afterward, the officers had a milelong procession to Torrance beach and Moss ' ashes were scattered at sea.
"He never had the chance to get married," said Wolcott , recalling Moss as a tall, good-looking man popular with women. "He never had the chance to have kids."
Wolcott , told he would never ski, run or work as a police officer again, spent three months in the hospital. A year after the crash he attended his own retirement dinner. He went to work as an assistant to Los Angeles Times Publisher Otis Chandler.
But after a dozen surgeries, he fought his way back, undergoing rehabilitation to regain flexibility, passing the physical exams to become a police officer again in 1985.
"That's all I ever wanted to do, was become a police officer," Wolcott said.
Prosecutors charged Brewster with vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving. His blood-alcohol level measured at 0.13, over the legal threshold at the time of 0.10.
A Torrance Superior Court jury acquitted Brewster of the manslaughter charges, finding that the fact he was legally drunk did not cause the collision.
"I felt bad," said Larry Diamond, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case. "It was probably the worst outcome I ever had in a trial in my career. I can't say the jurors were unreasonable."
Diamond said the prosecution had to prove Brewster's negligence was the primary cause of the crash.
"Our theory was the defen dant made an unsafe left turn below the crest of the hill into the Jack in the Box," Diamond said.
Defense attorney John Cheroske argued that Brewster's turn was safe and he could not see the officers approaching on the other side of the crest. He said the officers were approaching too fast.
Following the jury's verdict, Judge Thomas W. Fredricks sentenced Brewster to three years' probation for the misdemeanor drunken driving conviction.
Wolcott , missing a right knee cap and his left hand showing the bumps from his broken bones, eventually was promoted to sergeant and serves as the department's media spokesman.
"I was glad to see Paul was able to rehabilitate himself and come back on the job," said Police Chief Mike Lavin, who was a sergeant at the accident scene. "We are really lucky he had the fortitude to do that."
Keenan and Burch are ser geants on the Redondo Beach force.
Diamond remains with the District Attorney's Office in the San Fernando branch. Cheroske is a Compton Superior Court judge.
Brewster, who still lives in the South Bay, works for the Lomita recreation and parks department. He did not respond to a telephone message.
Moss is remembered with a memorial in front of the Hermosa Beach police station. When officers join the force, Wolcott , who still endures pain, tells them his story.
"Gary Moss was my friend," said Wolcott , a husband and father of three. "Gary Moss was my partner and he was a professional police officer. He was a son and he didn't get to be a father. . . ."
"I have considered every day since then to be a freebie. I have a higher appreciation for every one I get."
In 1981, Sergeant Wolcott was recruited to join the Hermosa Beach Police Department. Sergeant Wolcott was assigned to the patrol division an assigned to work with Officer Tommy Thompson. After developing an expertise in traffic enforcement and traffic related issues, Sergeant Wolcott was assigned to the Traffic Division and along with Officer Gary Moss were sent to the LAPD Motorcycle Training school. Best friends and now motor partners, Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott were assigned to the night shift weekend traffic schedule.
Towards the end of their shift, on a Saturday night in June 1982, Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott were posted on their police motorcycles at the intersection of Aviation Blvd. & Ocean Street. The officers were watching for DUI drivers and reckless driving patterns. Two motorcyclists were spotted racing up Aviation Blvd. from PCH. (It was later (5 years) learned that the men were fleeing from an armed robbery that had occurred in an adjacent city). With Officer Wolcott on the left and Officer Moss to his right the chase began. The fleeing motorcycles were speeding along at about 60 MPH. Officer Wolcott and Officer Moss were attempting to catch up with the intent of stopping the racing motorcycles.
Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott crested the rise on Aviation at Prospect in their attempt to catch up to the speeding motorcycles. At this same time, coming from the opposite direction was (convicted) drunk driver and small time drug dealer, Nigel Geoffrey Brewster of Torrance. Brewster had spent the night partying and drinking with friends at a Manhattan Beach bar. He was now on his way to Hermosa Beach. As Brewster headed west on Aviation at Harper he made a sudden decision to get some food at the Jack in the Box. Without signaling, Brewster made a sudden left turn across the path of Officer Moss and Officer Wolcott. The officer's motorcycles slammed into the Ford at about 60 MPH. Officer Wolcott colliding into the passenger side door and Officer Moss crashing into the right front fender. There was no time to alter course or even slow down. Their bodies were thrown 90 feet through the air and they tumbled down the street.
Officer Moss was thrown head first into the curb at Aviation and Harper. In the initial collision Officer Moss suffered a compound fracture to his leg. When he hit the curb he suffered a massive skull fracture and went into cardiac arrest.
Officer Wolcott was thrown into the middle of the street and sustained multiple fractures. Fractures to his back, a fractured pelvis, fractured arms, wrists, knees and multiple compound fractures to his left hand. He also fractured both knees and eventually had his right patella removed.
The drunk driver, Nigel Geoffrey Brewster was left unscathed. Passengers in his car were slightly injured.
A citizen watched the collision and immediately attempted to render aid to the fallen officers. He utilized a radio on one of the police motorcycles to call for help. The citizen radioed words that no police officer ever wants to hear over the air, "Officer Down". The response was immediate.
Hermosa Beach Officer Phil Keenan was the first on scene followed shortly by Redondo Beach Officer Paul Burch. Officer Burch was also an RN and had worked the E.R. at the old South Bay Hospital. Because of the grave condition of Officer Moss, Officer Burch and Officer Keenan made the heroic decision to immediately transport Officer Moss in a police car to the hospital. Once at the hospital Officer Moss was revived and placed on life support. On June 24, 1982 Officer Moss died from his injuries. He became the only police officer to die in the line of duty in the over 100 year history of the Hermosa Beach Police Department.
Officer Wolcott was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance. Multiple surgeries were performed to correct the massive injuries that Officer Wolcott had suffered. For two months and additional surgeries Officer Wolcott remained in the hospital in traction. At the beginning of the 3rd month in the hospital Officer Wolcott was transported to Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood where he began intensive rehabilitation and physical therapy. Officer Wolcott had to re learn how to walk and use his hands. After three months in the hospital Officer Wolcott was released and sent home to continue his rehabilitation.
In June 1983, his rehabilitation incomplete, Officer Wolcott was retired from the police department on a disability pension. In the ensuing years, Paul Wolcott continued with his rehabilitation, additional surgeries and the desire to return to police work. The effort paid off. Three years after the collision that claimed the life of his best friend and shattered most of the bones in his own body, Paul Wolcott returned to full duty in July 1985.
With the continuation of his career Sergeant Wolcott excelled working every assignment available including a return to motorcycle duty. Sergeant Wolcott worked as a Field Training Officer, Watch Commander, Detective, WESTNET Narcotics Detective, Emergency Response Team (SWAT) member, Honor Guard, Motor Officer, Motor Sergeant, Patrol Sergeant, Background Investigator, Training Manager, FTO Sergeant and Internal Affairs Sergeant. For the past 13 years Sergeant Wolcott served as the Hermosa Beach Police Department Public Information Officer, and concluded his career as the head of the Hermosa Beach Police Department Professional Standards Unit and Detective Bureau.
For the last two years Sergeant Wolcott along with Chief Greg Savelli and the senior management of the department have worked tirelessly in improving the department and cultivating the next generation of department leadership. As a team the management staff of the department has introduced a national accreditation program to the department as an ongoing long term project that will continue to improve the department's performance and will be administered for the next several years.
Sergeant Wolcott joins several other Hermosa Beach Police Department members who have recently retired from the department and their long law enforcement careers. Other members have lateral transferred to other departments or new careers in the private and academic sector.
Currently the department is actively recruiting for the vacant Captains position. 30 year veteran Tommy Thompson has been promoted to Lieutenant. Don Jones and Robert Higgins have been promoted to Sergeant. Two additional sergeants' promotions should take place within the next month. In all the Hermosa Beach Police Department has seen the departure of about 127 years of experience an institutional knowledge within the last month.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A day they can't forget in Hermosa Beach
Daily Breeze July 28, 2002
Author: Larry Altman
FATALITY: Twenty years ago, officer Gary Moss was killed in the line of duty. His partner was critically injured.
It was a shift like any other: two young motorcycle officers looking for speeders and drunken drivers in Hermosa Beach.
Gary Moss and Paul Wolcott were 20 minutes from heading home June 20, 1982, when two motorcyclists sped by them.
In moments, Moss would become the first and only Hermosa Beach police officer killed in the line of duty. Wolcott would spend months in the hospital and years in rehabilitation before making it back to the force.
Last month marked the 20th anniversary of Moss ' death.
"Every day, I see Gary Moss ' memorial," Wolcott said. "You can't help but think how different would it be had he survived. He had a tremendous amount of potential."
Wolcott , then 27, and Moss , 26, partners who worked, hung out and double-dated together, followed the speeding motorcyclists northbound along Aviation Boulevard, next to what was then The Boys Market, and now is a Pic `N' Save.
Suddenly, driver Nigel Brewster, then 24 and of Redondo Beach, made a sudden, unsignaled left turn in front of them to drive into the Jack in the Box at Harper Avenue.
"We didn't have time to do anything but hit the car," Wolcott recalled.
Both officers' motorcycles smashed into the Ford Fiesta. The crash threw the men about 90 feet.
Wolcott , his wrists broken, his pelvis fractured, his left hand and kneecaps shattered, his back broken, looked over and saw Moss . His fellow officer lay twisted in the gutter, his skull fractured and his leg broken.
A passer-by grabbed a police radio and told the department of the accident.
"All of a sudden we heard this strange voice, `You better get up here fast because there's two officers hurt,' " said Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan, then a Hermosa Beach officer.
When they arrived they found chaos. Wolcott was sitting up, unable to move. Keenan remembers Wolcott looking up and saying, "Hi, Phil, how you doin'?"
Nearby, Brewster and his three passengers were trapped in his car.
"It was a mess," Keenan said. "There were motorcycle parts and guns and badges all over the street."
Fearing Moss might die before paramedics arrived, Redondo Beach police officer Paul Burch and Keenan rushed him in a patrol car to South Bay Hospital, now the Beach Cities Health Center. A nurse who had stopped to help joined them and screamed all the way as the officers raced with their siren blaring.
Firefighters and paramedics soon arrived at the scene, rescuing Brewster and his passengers and aiding Wolcott .
Moss , on the force for 15 months after two years as a reserve, never regained consciousness and died four days later. Doctors removed his organs for transplants.
About 400 officers attended a memorial service outside Hermosa Beach City Hall. Afterward, the officers had a milelong procession to Torrance beach and Moss ' ashes were scattered at sea.
"He never had the chance to get married," said Wolcott , recalling Moss as a tall, good-looking man popular with women. "He never had the chance to have kids."
Wolcott , told he would never ski, run or work as a police officer again, spent three months in the hospital. A year after the crash he attended his own retirement dinner. He went to work as an assistant to Los Angeles Times Publisher Otis Chandler.
But after a dozen surgeries, he fought his way back, undergoing rehabilitation to regain flexibility, passing the physical exams to become a police officer again in 1985.
"That's all I ever wanted to do, was become a police officer," Wolcott said.
Prosecutors charged Brewster with vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving. His blood-alcohol level measured at 0.13, over the legal threshold at the time of 0.10.
A Torrance Superior Court jury acquitted Brewster of the manslaughter charges, finding that the fact he was legally drunk did not cause the collision.
"I felt bad," said Larry Diamond, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case. "It was probably the worst outcome I ever had in a trial in my career. I can't say the jurors were unreasonable."
Diamond said the prosecution had to prove Brewster's negligence was the primary cause of the crash.
"Our theory was the defen dant made an unsafe left turn below the crest of the hill into the Jack in the Box," Diamond said.
Defense attorney John Cheroske argued that Brewster's turn was safe and he could not see the officers approaching on the other side of the crest. He said the officers were approaching too fast.
Following the jury's verdict, Judge Thomas W. Fredricks sentenced Brewster to three years' probation for the misdemeanor drunken driving conviction.
Wolcott , missing a right knee cap and his left hand showing the bumps from his broken bones, eventually was promoted to sergeant and serves as the department's media spokesman.
"I was glad to see Paul was able to rehabilitate himself and come back on the job," said Police Chief Mike Lavin, who was a sergeant at the accident scene. "We are really lucky he had the fortitude to do that."
Keenan and Burch are ser geants on the Redondo Beach force.
Diamond remains with the District Attorney's Office in the San Fernando branch. Cheroske is a Compton Superior Court judge.
Brewster, who still lives in the South Bay, works for the Lomita recreation and parks department. He did not respond to a telephone message.
Moss is remembered with a memorial in front of the Hermosa Beach police station. When officers join the force, Wolcott , who still endures pain, tells them his story.
"Gary Moss was my friend," said Wolcott , a husband and father of three. "Gary Moss was my partner and he was a professional police officer. He was a son and he didn't get to be a father. . . ."
"I have considered every day since then to be a freebie. I have a higher appreciation for every one I get."
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About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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About the Blogger
Denise Nix knew as young as grade school, when she spent every summer working on the camp newspaper, that she wanted to be a journalist. Denise has spent most of the last 12 years of her career in the courtroom. She joined the Daily Breeze in 2001, where she tracks and reports on hundreds of cases at every level of the justice system. And she's never, ever, seen a judge use a gavel.
E-mail Denise at denise.nix@dailybreeze.com.
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Larry, great stuff as usual. Paul Wolcott is a class act - and through your writing over the years, has come to be known by many of us as a civil servant beyond compare.
Brian,
We hold you in extremely high regard too. Everybody's Fave Five. That word you use fits: "Stupendous."
Note: Brian Humphrey is a public information officer for the Los Angeles City Fire Department.
Have fun Paul, I'll miss seeing you around town.
mike
Congratulations Paul but now I'll have to fend for myself in Hermosa. But if you need any help in how to be a beach bum, I'm your guy.
Well done brother.
Johnny
Paul was a decent guy.