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Richard Valdemar

Richard Valdemar

Sgt. Richard Valdemar retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after spending most of his 33 years on the job combating gangs.
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Gangs

Blog - Gangs

Displaying 1  -  10  of  104

Know Your Enemy's History  

July 28, 2010
One must understand our adversary's history and motivation in order to predict his future activities. Real intelligence opens the mind to why and how the adversary thinks, so we might be proactive rather than reactive to his attack.

Corrections Officers Give You the Edge  

July 8, 2010
If you are a law enforcement administrator, consider multiplying your gang intelligence resources with a gang liaison officer or gang unit in the jail. If you are a gang officer working on the street, consider cultivating an in-custody officer to assist you in the jail.

How Gang Members Ambush Officers  Law Enforcement Only

July 1, 2010
Any suspect, who may feel cornered, may unexpectedly turn and ambush pursuing police officers. Situations for possible gang-ambush traps may spring from successful tactics practiced on gang rivals and adapted to spring on police officers.
In a recent seizure, Zapata County Sheriff deputies confiscated 3,500 AK-47 rounds and 320 military issue .50 caliber machine-gun rounds. Photo courtesy of Richard Valdemar.

Mexican Cartel Violence: None Dare Call It Terrorism  

June 21, 2010
In the last three years, 23,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Mexican drug gang violence. This daily body count rivals totals from Iraq and Afghanistan, but the U.S. downplays any "cross-border spillover" or homeland security threat. None dare call this terrorism.
El Paso (foreground) and Juarez (background) are on the front line of a border war between law enforcement and Mexican cartels. Photo via Flickr.com (Paul Garland).

The Border War With Mexican Cartels  

June 14, 2010
The word "war" is not just hyperbole; it correctly describes what is going on. It's estimated that the violence—kidnapping and murder—has driven 400,000 locals out of the Juarez area with an estimated 30,000 fleeing to El Paso and beyond. A U.S. border sheriff claimed that the cartels printed fliers ordering his residents to evacuate their homes in the border area or they would be murdered.
Photo of 1997 infant murder scene in Santa Ana, Calif. The crime scene was a converted garage in which the "high priest" conducted occult rituals to a mixture of Afro-Caribbean and Mexican "saints" and deities. The picture depicts one of the main altars with the Mexican drug cartel saint "Santa Muerte" (Holy Angel of Death).

Patron Saints of the Mexican Drug Underworld (Part 2 of 2)  

June 2, 2010
Some human sacrifices to Santa Muerte have been claimed in Tijuana and Nuevo Laredo in 2006. In 2008, 11 headless bodies were found in the Yucatan and the heads were said to have been burned in honor of Santa Muerte.

Patron Saints of the Mexican Drug Underworld (Part 1 of 2)  

June 1, 2010
In a strange way, the iconography ties together much of the evil perpetrated by the gangs that are trafficking in drugs and human beings and their violent inhuman behavior. There is a spiritual dimension to their madness and recognition of the signs and symbols of their belief system can help you identify them.

Gangsters in Blue  Law Enforcement Only

May 24, 2010
What are these cops thinking? Don't they realize that they are being used by the gang? Can't they see that should their gang friends become engaged in a violent situation (which is inevitable) there can be no good outcome for the badged members and associates?

Gangs Abandon Honor for an Unholy Alliance  

May 5, 2010
The lure of filthy lucre is too great. Gang members betray the ancient warrior's code of conduct for new tires and fancy rims, or a dime bag of dope. Honor is replaced by "bling."
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies assigned to the Operation Safe Streets unit. Photo courtesy of Richard Valdemar.

Going Beyond Suppression Patrols To Eradicate Gangs  Law Enforcement Only

April 26, 2010
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Curtis Jackson pioneered a different way to attack gangs. Instead of using "show of force" suppression patrols, Jackson relied on intelligent tactics.
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