Clemence B. Horrall
Clemence Brooks Horrall (September 24, 1895 – October 4, 1960) was Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Police from June 16, 1941, when he succeeded Arthur C. Hohmann to serve as the 41st Chief of the L.A.P.D., to June 28, 1949, when he resigned under pressure during a grand jury investigation of police corruption.[1] Clemence Brooks Horrall was born in Washington, Indiana and graduated from Washington State University. Horrall had become chief when Hohmann, under pressure from Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, voluntarily took a demotion to deputy chief after he had become ensnared in a police corruption trial that had embarrassed the mayor.[2]
Clemence B. Horrall | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1895 |
| Died | October 4, 1960 (aged 65) |
| Police career | |
| Country | United States |
| Department | Los Angeles Police Department |
| Rank |  |
During his tenure as chief many significant events occurred that would shape Los Angeles during the decade of the 1940s, when the population of the city proper surged from 1.5 million to nearly 2 million people. Events such as World War II, Japanese-American relocation and internment (see Japanese American internment), the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 and the Black Dahlia homicide roiled the city, as did the Brenda Allen vice scandal of 1948–49 that led to Chief Horrall's resignation after it was found that officers involved with the Hollywood madam perjured themselves under oath during grand jury testimony, as did Horrall himself. He resigned in 1949, succeeded by Marine Major General William A. Worton.[3]
Clemence Horrall died in 1960 from a heart attack and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, by Hollywood Hills.
In popular culture
- When Jack Webb's radio program Dragnet commenced in 1949, Horrall's endorsement of the program was acknowledged at the end of every episode. That tradition continued with W. A. Worton and continued throughout the various spin offs of Dragnet.
- In the 2011 Team Bondi video game L.A. Noire, LAPD Chief of Police William Worrell is directly based on Clemence B. Horall.
- He is portrayed by Michael McGrady in the 2013 television series, Mob City.
References
- "Clemence B. Horrall". Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- Buntin, John (2009). L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City. New York: Three Rivers Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-307-35207-1.
- "CALIFORNIA: Brenda's Revenge". Time Magazine. 11 July 1949. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
External links
- "Clemence B. Horrall". Find a Grave. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
| Police appointments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Arthur C. Hohmann |
Chief of LAPD 1941–1949 |
Succeeded by William A. Worton |