I first thought about becoming a policeman when I was 41/2 years old, not long after I arrived at John B. Monlux Elementary School in North Hollywood, Calif. It was January 1949, and my parents had one year earlier purchased their first home in the San Fernando Valley.
On my first day of school, with my small, chubby fingers laced tightly through my mother’s hand, I walked up to the shiny chain-link fence that surrounded the school. Stepping through the open gate, Mother walked me to the first classroom on the left and stopped before the open door. As she did, a pretty blonde woman walked to the door and introduced herself as my teacher, Mrs. Beverly See.
With that introduction, Mrs. See reached forward, took me by the hand,…
