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•February 22, 2008

How Gangs Use the Justice System

Gang members have found inventive ways of bringing drugs into the courts. Perhaps the most offensive method of delivery was to enlist the help of court officers.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•February 15, 2008

What Not to Do in Anti-Gang Programs

I don't mean to sound like Los Angeles or I personally have all the answers to the world's gang problems, but during my more than three decades fighting gangs, I have seen many programs in Los Angeles that have failed. I have learned what does and what doesn't work.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•February 1, 2008

The Rise and Fall of the Nazi Low Riders

We were waiting for a violent paranoid tweeker we knew was armed with a Glock pistol and running on parole. He told all of his associates that he would not be taken alive. He was also a member of the Nazi Low Rider (NLR) prison gang.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•January 25, 2008

Chuckie, Midget, and the Compton Tortilla Flats Gang

I was there when this monster was spawned. The Tortilla Flats Gang was born in Compton, California, about 1962.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•January 22, 2008

The Mongol Motorcycle Gang and the Mexican Mafia

These outlaw gangs are not known for their adherence to truces and coalitions. When you deal with the Devil you can't expect honesty and fair play. The Mongols had already let the Devil into the deal in the early 1970s.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•January 10, 2008

Mara Salvatrucha

MS is not like any other East Coast, Chicago, or even native Salvadorian gang. This is why reports on the gang written by federal law enforcement and the military analysts who have little or no experience with the Hispanic gangs of Los Angeles are rarely accurate.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•December 28, 2007

Holidays in the Hood

The season brings the same problems to the ghettos and barrios that face the rest of us, except in an exaggerated way. Problems like poverty, lack of education, illness, alcohol and drug abuse, and the desire to give and receive gifts we can’t afford, are all seemingly intensified by the lack of real opportunities. The resulting depression that sets in the minds and spirits of individuals and the community is often temporarily self-medicated with alcohol and drugs. This results in desperate a

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•December 14, 2007

A Nightmare Scenario

The attack team crossed the “frontera” via a well-used tunnel near Nogales. It split up on the U.S. side, one group traveling by night toward Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, and the other made its way toward nearby Fort Huachuca.

Articles•by Richard Valdemar•December 1, 2007

Kel-Tec PF-9 Pistol

For undercover police work or even off-duty use, a small gun that can easily be concealed yet fires a reasonably powerful cartridge is essential. Kel-Tec has recently introduced its PF-9, which the company touts as the slimmest and lightest 9mm semi-auto handgun on the market.

Inside the Badge •by Richard Valdemar•November 30, 2007

The Freight Train Riders of America

Like the muffled whispers about the "Black Hand" of the Mafia in the Italian community, the "train freaks" whispered of a gang of outlaws that lived to ride the freight trains in the West. They were robbers, burglars, and hijackers with colorful names. Cross one of their members, and they would get you.

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