LOS ANGELES — Joseph Wambaugh, the renowned author who captivated readers with his thrilling true-crime bestseller “The Onion Field” and numerous other novels that delve into the gritty realities of police work, has passed away at the age of 88. His death was confirmed by a family friend, Janene Gant, who informed that Wambaugh died on Friday at his residence in Rancho Mirage, California, succumbing to esophageal cancer.
Wambaugh began his career with aspirations of becoming an English teacher. However, his path led him to serve for 11 years with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), climbing to the rank of sergeant before he penned his debut novel, “The New Centurions,” in 1971. The publication offered a stark, investigative look into the lives of police officers and the intimidating challenges they face while patrolling the often dangerous streets of Los Angeles. Following the critical acclaim of his first work, he released another compelling novel, “The Blue Knight,” in 1972.
Esteemed author Michael Connelly, known for his bestselling series centered on LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, once remarked, “If he didn’t invent the police novel, he certainly reinvented it.” Yet, it was Wambaugh’s subsequent book, “The Onion Field,” that truly captured the public’s attention. This harrowing real-life narrative recounts the 1963 abduction and murder of a Los Angeles police officer. Both Officers Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger were overpowered during a routine traffic stop in Hollywood and subsequently taken to an onion field near Bakersfield where Campbell was brutally murdered and Hettinger managed a narrow escape.
Following the massive impact of “The Onion Field,” Wambaugh turned back to fiction, creating works like “The Choirboys,” which skillfully blended humor and tragedy while examining the lives of LAPD officers. His novels, often driven by both first-hand and fictionalized accounts, explored complex themes of morality and showcased officers grappling with personal demons such as alcoholism, racism, and infidelity — often exacerbated by job-induced stress. These narratives reflected the harsh realities where officers might cross moral boundaries, affecting not only criminals but innocent lives caught in their path.
Wambaugh, whose father was a police officer, initially planned to pursue teaching after earning an English degree from California State University, Los Angeles. However, the promise of a better paycheck led him to law enforcement. His education was funded by G.I. bill benefits following his service in the Marine Corps. While advancing through the LAPD ranks, he earned a master’s degree in 1968 and began jotting down his experiences in what would become his published “scribbles.” With the publishing of “The New Centurions,” Wambaugh attempted to juggle his dual roles of officer and author.
However, the success and fame brought by “The Onion Field” made it impossible to maintain both careers. He noted incidents where individuals would call the station with fabricated crimes, hoping for Sgt. Wambaugh’s intervention, or suspects expressing a desire for roles in movie adaptations based on the book. The situation escalated to a point where his detective partner began treating him with the deference reserved for celebrities, prompting his resignation from the LAPD in 1974.
Devoting himself fully to writing, Wambaugh went on to publish 18 books over the next four decades. His works continued to explore both fictional and true-crime narratives. His 1992 book “Echoes in the Darkness” recounted the tragic killings of Philadelphia schoolteacher Susan Reinert and her children, while “Lines and Shadows” depicted officers patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. “The Blooding” detailed a groundbreaking British case utilizing DNA evidence to solve a murder.
“Echoes in the Darkness” was not without its controversies. In the wake of its publication, Jay C. Smith, a defendant in the Reinert case, accused Wambaugh of conspiring with police to falsify evidence against him to profit from the book’s narrative and subsequent television adaptation. This lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.
Several of Wambaugh’s works found success in film adaptations, and he contributed to the creation of the popular television series, “Police Story,” during the 1970s. Steering temporarily away from police narratives, he explored different themes in other novels such as the 1978 satirical “The Black Marble,” 1981’s “The Glitter Dome,” and “The Secrets of Harry Bright” in 1985.
Returning to his roots in police storytelling, “Hollywood Station” was released in 2006, inspired by the stories he gathered from social gatherings with officers. By 2012, he completed “Harbor Nocturne,” the fifth installment of his Hollywood Station series. These later works depicted an LAPD caught in the aftermath of high-profile incidents, such as the Rodney King beating and the Rampart scandal, reflecting a department beleaguered by accusations of misconduct.
In a 2007 interview, Wambaugh contended that only a few LAPD officers were truly corrupt but acknowledged their actions created challenges for their peers. He observed, “They’re scared of everything now. The good cop is the one who’s proactive, the one that could get complaints. But the good cop takes that risk.”
Joseph Wambaugh is survived by his wife, Dee Allsup, whom he married in 1955, and their two children. Their third child, Mark, tragically died in a highway accident in 1984.
