The
Birth of "The Bulldogs"
The
Bulldog logo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s
Homicide Bureau, has become one of the most recognized law
enforcement insignias in the nation. Homicide investigations
often require travel throughout the United States and sometimes
abroad. When law enforcement professionals exchange memorabilia
representing their agencies, the LASD “Bulldog” has become
prized as a symbol of excellence.
The
Homicide Bulldog was born more than 25 years ago when, on
December 18, 1977, the 'Los Angeles Times' featured a story
comparing homicide cases investigated by the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Department with those investigated by the Los Angeles
Police Department. In that article, a veteran prosecutor was
quoted as saying;
“You
want to know why the Sheriff’s conviction rate is so much
higher in homicide, not just last year, but for several years?
It is because the guys from the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau
are a bunch of bulldogs.”
“From
the time they are called to the murder scene, until we prosecutors
get the case through the courts, they never let go....and
I mean on every murder case, not just the high publicity cases....”
“They
are routinely tenacious, and the investigator assigned to
the case sticks with it until the end. There is no shuttling
cases to somebody else. With the Sheriff’s people,
if you need follow-up done, they are marvelous; they are super.
They even give you their home phone numbers in volunteering
to help out.”
In
the twenty five years since that story appeared, the 'Bulldog'
has become and continues to be the symbol of homicide investigators
of many agencies and their tenacity as they investigate Homicide
cases.