Good Neighbors

As good neighbors of the Police Academy, located just 700 yards north of the left field wall, the Los Angeles Dodgers frequently welcomed police officers to utilize their spacious Dodger Stadium parking lots for training exercises. In 1968, Walter O’Malley was asked to donate 2.66 acres of Dodger property back to the City of Los Angeles, so that the Police Academy, which had been located on the site since the 1930s, could modernize and expand a new training center. The Academy was the vision of Police Chief James E. Davis and was established privately by the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club, Inc. It was the alma mater to every new police officer. The updated center was to expand 6.44 acres. O’Malley made arrangements to legally grant the land back to the City of Los Angeles on October 15, 1968, so that the improvement project could get underway.

SOURCE: HENRY SUTHERLAND, LOS ANGELES TIMES, JULY 7, 1969; OSP ARCHIVES