Police Magazine

Richard Valdemar

Sergeant (Ret.)

Sgt. Richard Valdemar retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after spending most of his 33 years on the job combating gangs. For the last 20 years, he was assigned to Major Crimes Bureau. He was also cross-designated as an FBI agent for 10 years of his career when he served on the Federal Metropolitan Gang Task Force. From 1995 until his retirement in 2004, Valdemar was a member of the California Prison Gang Task Force, helping prosecute members of the Mexican Mafia.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•December 22, 2009

In Foot Pursuit of a Grinch

As we began our shift, we passed a residential area in the Mariana Maravillas gang turf. I saw two middle-aged men coming out of a sliding glass door at the side of one residence. The house was on my side (passenger side) of the car and like Santa Claus each man carried a big cloth bag slung over a shoulder. For a nanosecond one of the hype burglars' eyes met mine.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•December 10, 2009

How to Assess Gang Threats

Most gangs frown on a policy of open Jihad against the police. Their natural enemies are not the police but rival gangs. Traditionally, the police were more of an annoyance and only collateral targets if at all.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•December 2, 2009

The Grape Street Gang, the CCO, and Honcho Day

In the mid-1980s these crack and PCP drug wars exploded into unprecedented violence and open gang wars on the streets of Los Angeles and Compton. The evolution of fortified crack houses with iron sally port entrances and video surveillance and the appearance of gang members wearing body armor who engaged in firefights using military-style weapons and multiple shooters, forced the police to play catch-up tactically. And the cost in human lives was staggering.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•November 4, 2009

The Rise of Muslim Gangs

In 2001 large numbers of Somali immigrants began migrating to Maine bringing their clan rivalries and their love of khat with them. Since then these Somali rival gangs, or "clans" as they prefer, have taken root in such far flung U.S. cities as; Lewiston (Maine), Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Kansas City and Garden City (Kansas), and San Diego.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•October 29, 2009

The Buela Street Witch

Vetrovec and I were at the south window in hyper-vigilance mode, when one of the Geraghty homeboys pulled down the plywood covering the living room door, and the three Geraghty homeboys stepped inside.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•September 28, 2009

Failed and Fruitful Tactics for Combating Gangs

Any teacher, preacher, lawyer, cop, psychologist, gang crime victim, good mother, or good father would be more effective in gang prevention than a dozen "ex-gang members."

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•September 24, 2009

Los Wonder Boys and the Mexican Sureño Movement

Mexican authorities continue to report a steady rise in "Sureño" gang activity in San Luis, Mexico. This has become a serious concern for both Mexican law enforcement and the general public.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•September 15, 2009

Gang Enablers and Co-Dependents

These supposed “non-gang” gang supporters are too often shown leniency by the prosecutors and courts. They have as much culpability for the acts of the gang members they support as the actual drug dealing murderers. The bloody violence clearly stains the gang supporter’s hands as well, and it is their actions that make the violence possible.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•August 27, 2009

The Gang Arms Race

Thousands of surplus military fragmentation grenades and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) were left over from the Central American civil wars. Corrupt military suppliers, communist governments, and weapons dealers are other sources for arms traffickers offering grenades and RPGs on the black market.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•August 6, 2009

Countering Academic Gang Experts

When interviewed by sociologists, gang members commonly lie. They do this for several reasons including: to appear less criminally culpable, because the academic interviewer has little ability to verify and check the facts so it’s fun to BS them, and because discussing gang business with people outside the gang is prohibited. Consequently, a lot of academic gang member interviews are full of inaccurate information.

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