''The Onion Field'' is a 1973 nonfiction book by
Joseph Wambaugh, a sergeant for the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
, chronicling the kidnapping of two
plainclothes LAPD officers by a pair of criminals during a traffic stop and the subsequent murder of one of the officers.
Crime
On the night of March 9, 1963, LAPD officers Ian Campbell (age 31) and
Karl Hettinger (age 28) were riding in an unmarked police car. They pulled over a 1946 Ford coupe containing two suspicious-looking men at the corner of Carlos Avenue and Gower Street in
Hollywood.
The two men,
Gregory Ulas Powell (age 30) and
Jimmy Lee Smith (a.k.a. "Jimmy Youngblood", age 32), had recently committed a string of robberies, and "each had a pistol tucked into his trousers".
Powell, the driver, pulled a gun on Campbell, who "calmly told his partner, 'He has a gun in my back. Give him your gun.'" And he did as his partner requested. The two officers were then forced into Powell's car and, within 30 seconds after the traffic stop began, were driven north from Los Angeles on Route 99, to an onion field near
Bakersfield, where Campbell was fatally shot.
Hettinger was able to escape, running nearly four miles to reach a farmhouse.
The killing occurred primarily because Powell assumed that the kidnapping of the officers alone already constituted a
capital crime under the state's
Little Lindbergh Law. However, Powell's interpretation was incorrect. Under the Little Lindbergh Law at that time, kidnapping became a capital crime only if the victim were harmed or if a
ransom were demanded. Today, kidnapping in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
is punishable by
life imprisonment, either with or without the possibility of
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
, depending on the circumstances.
Aftermath
On August 10, 2012, the intersection of Carlos Avenue and Gower Street in Hollywood, the site of the officers' abduction, was named "Ian Campbell Square" in honor of the slain officer. Additionally, a section of the Hollywood Freeway (
California State Route 101
U.S. Route 101 (US 101) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway, stretching from Los Angeles, California to Tumwater, Washington. The California portion of US 101 is one of the last remaining and longest U.S. Routes s ...
) in Hollywood, from Hollywood Boulevard to Highland Avenue, was designated the "Ian J. Campbell Memorial Freeway."
Hettinger
Although Hettinger escaped, he felt scorned by his fellow officers and officials at the Los Angeles Police Department, and suffered severe emotional trauma for both the initial incident and the following treatment. Eventually a
police training video was made using his experience as an example of what to do when stopping and approaching a vehicle.
Hettinger was forced to resign from the LAPD in 1966, after being accused of shoplifting. Years later, he was elected a supervisor of Kern County, California, where he served multiple consecutive terms. He died of
liver disease
Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common.
Signs and symptoms
Some of the si ...
in 1994 at age 59.
The suspects
Powell was arrested on the night of the murder, after being spotted driving a stolen vehicle by California Highway Patrol officers. The following day, Smith was apprehended as well. The lead LAPD investigator on the case was Sergeant Pierce Brooks. Both suspects were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Ultimately, they received
life sentence
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
s. For each, the
lower court
A lower court or inferior court is a court from which an appeal may be taken, usually referring to courts other than supreme court. In relation to an appeal from one court to another, the lower court is the court whose decision is being reviewed ...
sentence followed a second trial and several appeals. Their death sentences were vacated when the
California Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...
ruled in ''
California v. Anderson'' (1972) that California's death penalty was
cruel and unusual punishment.
In April 1982, following the release from prison of Powell's accomplice Jimmy Lee Smith, Valerie Campbell, the daughter of the slain Officer Ian Campbell, contacted John Mancino. Mancino was the founder of Citizens for Truth, an organization that had recently led a successful petition effort to rescind the parole date of
Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ar, سرحان بشارة سرحان ''Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān'', born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian Jordanian man who was convicted for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Kennedy, a United States Sena ...
, who had been convicted of assassinating presidential candidate
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
.
Mancino drafted a petition to have Powell's scheduled release rescinded. With Valerie Campbell's help, he collected 31,500 signatures in three-and-a-half weeks, which were submitted to the California Board of Prison Terms, along with several thousand letters. The parole board then held a hearing and eventually rescinded Powell's release date.
Following this, Powell's attorney was successful in convincing Solano County Superior Court Judge, Ellis Randall, to order Powell's release from prison in ten days, ruling that Citizens for Truth's public outcry was the sole reason Powell's release was rescinded, which at the time was legally improper. Valerie Campbell then joined Citizens for Truth's representatives, John Mancino and Dr. Howard Garber, along with the group's attorneys, in filing a legal brief in the First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco, demanding that Powell remain in prison.
The group prevailed both at the appeals court and the California Supreme Court, thereby leading to Powell's spending the rest of his life in prison, where he died in 2012.
Powell
At a
parole board A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdiction ...
hearing on January 27, 2010, Powell was denied parole. In a January 21, 2010 letter to state
corrections
In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and s ...
officials, Los Angeles Police Union President Paul Weber urged the board to deny parole, calling Powell a "vicious murderer who has not yet paid his debt to society".
On October 18, 2011, the California State
Parole Board A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdiction ...
denied
compassionate release
Compassionate release is a process by which inmates in criminal justice systems may be eligible for immediate early release on grounds of "particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by t ...
for Powell, who had been diagnosed with terminal
prostate cancer. The board stated that Powell did not wish to be released from prison and was likely to be uncooperative if paroled.
Powell died on August 12, 2012, at the
California Medical Facility
California Medical Facility (CMF) is a male-only state prison medical facility located in the city of Vacaville, Solano County, California. It is older than California State Prison, Solano, the other state prison in Vacaville.
Facilities
CMF ...
in
Vacaville
Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it ...
. He was 79 years old.
Smith
Smith was released in 1982 but returned to prison several times on drug-related parole violations. In December 2006, he failed to report to his
parole officer
A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...
, and a
warrant was issued for his arrest. In February 2007, a man matching Smith's description was detained by police in Los Angeles'
Skid Row
A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...
area and eventually identified as Smith. He was arrested, charged with violating his parole, and sent to the Pitchess Detention Center in
Castaic, California
Castaic () (Chumash: ''Kaštiq''; Spanish: ''Castéc'') is an unincorporated community in the northwestern part of Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 19,015. For statistical purposes the Census Bureau h ...
. On April 7, 2007, while in that facility, he died of an apparent
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at age 76.
Film and television adaptations
The book was adapted into a
1979 film of the same name directed by
Harold Becker
Harold Becker (born September 25, 1928) is an American film and television director, producer, and photographer from New York City, associated with the New Hollywood movement and best known for his work in the thriller genre. His body of work ...
. It starred
John Savage as Karl Hettinger,
James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...
as Gregory Powell,
Franklyn Seales
Franklyn Seales (July 15, 1952 – May 14, 1990) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was known for his portrayals of business manager Dexter Stuffins in the 1980s sitcom ''Silver Spoons'', and real-life convicted cop killer Jim ...
as Jimmy Smith, and
Ted Danson
Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. ...
(in his film debut) as Ian Campbell.
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
's ''
Southland Southland may refer to:
Places Canada
* Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia
New Zealand
* Southland Region, a region of New Zealand
* Southland County, a former New Zealand county
* Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...
'' season 5 episode 9 titled "Chaos" (original airdate April 10, 2013) portrayed a reimagined version of the events that took place in ''The Onion Field''.
The ''
Adam-12'' episode "Killing Ground" was based on this incident. Officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed are kidnapped by two armed robbers on the run. The only difference is Malloy and Reed are able to escape and turn the tables on their captors.
See also
*
List of homicides in California
This is a list of notable homicides in California. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of California that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into four subject areas as fo ...
*
1973 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1973.
Events
*March 6 – The Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts, founded as the Montenegrin Society for Science and Arts (''Crnogorsko društvo za nauku i um ...
References
External links
Online memorial to Officer Ian James Campbell''Los'' ''Angeles'' ''Times—''Document: ‘Onion Field’ killer Gregory Powell is dead (original newspaper articles)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onion Field, The
Non-fiction crime books
1973 non-fiction books
Non-fiction books adapted into films
History of Los Angeles
History of Bakersfield, California
Los Angeles Police Department
Books with cover art by Paul Bacon
1963 murders in the United States
Delacorte Press books