Spoiler : Powers, John W (John William Powers) Born in Poughkeepsie, New York; died 11/15/2002 at age 90 of cancer at his home in Cool, California. Powers was a third generation police officer. His grandfather was an officer for 21 years in Newburgh, New York, his father served as a Poughkeepsie officer for 36 years. Powers served 31 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. Powers' grandson (Robert Harwood) is keeping up the tradition, serving with the San Francisco Police Department. Two-Gun Johnny, the "Patton" of the LAPD, a real cop's cop, quotes from Joseph Wambaugh's best-selling, true-crime novel, "The Onion Field." The novel was made into a 1979 movie. Nickname of Two-Gun came from his bravado and derring- do during his first year serving the LAPD, when he was shot by a 15-year old robber. Powers, sure he was a goner, pulled out his second gun and killed the 15-year old punk. For the next twenty years, Powers always carried two weapons, until he made rank of inspector in 1961, then he carried a snub-nosed 38, and he always carried a 45 in retirement.

Spoiler : The Onion Field novel was about the 1963 kidnapping of two LAPD officers, Campbell and Hettinger, and murder of officer Camobell in an onion field near Bakersfield, California. Powers, who went to Bakersfield the night of the murder, as lead investigator, and penned a controversial memo. Officially the memo was titled, "Patrol Bureau Memorandum Number 11, and it's subtitle, or subject matter was "Rollcall Training--Officer's Survival. What it said, was never turn over your weapons to "a depraved criminal" as the two officers had done on a Hollywood side street; try to distract the gunman to regain control of the situation, take a hit if necessary, and always remember, "if shot, all wounds are not fatal."

Spoiler : Quotes from Powers' statement and belief(s) made at the time, are as follows; the police are engaged in a hot war, there are no truces, and there is no hope of an armistice. The enemy abides by no rules of civilized warfare. Individual officers, when taking their oath of office, enters a sacred trust to protect their community to the best of their ability, laying down their life if necessary. All men return to dust, the manner of a man's living and dying is of paramount importance. Although some moderns have attempted to sap the strength and ideals of this nation by slogans such as "I'd rather be red, than dead," there are situations more intolerable than death."

Spoiler : Following Powers' memo, and statements, many rank and file officers believed that the memo strongly implied that Campbell could have prevented his own death, and branded the two officers as cowards. Hettinger was so troubled by his experiance as he testified through trial after trial, which finally convicted two men. He left the LAPD while under investigation for shoplifting in 1966.

Spoiler : Powers and his wife of 66 years (Grace) moved to Cool, California to be near their daughters. Even in retirement, Powers couldn't live without serving the law enforcement community, serving the El Dorado County Sheriff's Team of Active Retirees, and the Sacramento Area Blue Line Association which is made up of former LAPD officers living near California's capital (Sacramento). Powers was a writer, and while retired penned his own unpublished autobiography titled, "Officer Survival." Writer for Dragnet, but I have no data on when, or if for radio, or television.