The walls of HOJJ were the keepers of secrets. Only those who delved in her realm knew that there were really fifteen floors in the Hall of Justice and not fourteen as was commonly believed. This was but one of many little known secrets kept locked away from those who visited but for those who worked in this grand edifice those secrets represented what some believed was a bond of honor and mutual protection between its historical legacy and the people who worked there. And on that dreadful morning of Oct 1, 1987, trapped in my own gated hell of a predicament, another of its secrets would be revealed………
The gates were rocking more violently then ever. The inmates were feverishly pushing and pulling the crash gates in a rhythmic motion that caused the rocker arm of the locking mechanism to rise and fall with each motion. If the arm lifted high enough it would clear the thick steel catch bar and allow the gate to slide freely. The inside gate seemed to have the strongest and most motivated group of convicts and it appeared the first breach would be from that gate. I barked out every conceivable threat/ ploy I could think of in a last ditch attempt to regain some level of control but that ship had sailed and all that was left to do was wait for the first gate to open and see what happened. I had every intention of throwing the keys down an elevator shaft as soon as the first gate opened anyway and I told then as much, but the momentum of the moment carried too much velocity and they were determined to get in. I looked for any conceivable place to defend myself should the crazed lunatics follow through on their threats. There was nowhere to go and no place to hide.
My thoughts flashed briefly to my family which almost immediately evoked intense anger and resentment. I resented being put in this situation by a bunch of losers and scumballs. If Mother Nature shook me to my grave then so be it, that’s the way the building crumbles…..so to speak….. But no band of murdering, raping, thieving turd bags were going to have the satisfaction. I was going to test their resolve.
I took my belt off and latched my handcuffs to the end buckle. That and a five cell Maglite flashlight were my only weapons of defense which were absurdly inadequate considering the situation, but I didn’t care; F—k these A- holes. I reached down to pick up my radio off the floor at the very moment urgent traffic came crackling out.
“Kitchen Gate- ERT 2…….obtain cover. Kitchen Gate- ERT 2…take cover now!”
I didn’t see or hear anyone in the area but I knew enough to do what I was told. I backed into the same corner where the priest and female had been earlier. Some of the inmates looked at me with a sense of urgent suspicion and they began rotating their heads left and right toward the 25 and 50 stairwells (designated by their location in the building). At that moment a small aftershock made a crashing sound from the rear of the kitchen area; I could not see around the wall where I was crouching but what I experienced was a short moment of suspended silence followed immediately by the unmistakable sounds of bodies hitting walls, batons hitting bones and loud bold voices issuing instructions. I realized this particular aftershock was man made. Help had arrived as promised and it came in the form of ERT-2(Emergency Response Team 2…of which I had been a member).
Inmates fled in all directions, attempting to fold themselves back into the anonymity of the crowd. As soon as ERT -2 had emerged from the rear of the kitchen area, another response team came pouring out of the 25 stairwell effectively surrounding all the involved inmates, leaving them nowhere to go. In less then a minute, 50 plus inmates were flex cuffed and laying on the concrete floors outside the crash gates. Many were bleeding; but most were just whining and proclaiming their innocence.
As soon as the area was secured I unlocked the crash gates and opened the supply closet. There were still only two people in there and both were ok. Three nurses appeared from the rear of the kitchen area, just like ERT-2 and took the female away on a gurney (she delivered that night). The priest looked frail and complained of chest pains and was taken to a medical triage location for further examination, but was otherwise ok. One of my good friends and ERT-2 team mate Rob came up to me, pulled his protective shield up from his face, started laughing and causally quipped, “Geezuus Mike…some people will do anything to get out of working the Kitchen gate!”
I shook my head and looked back in the direction of the kitchen area. As far as I knew there was no way to reach the fifteenth floor from the kitchen side of the building. ERT-2 and the med staff seemingly came out of nowhere. I asked Rob how they got up here. He replied, “The grey lady (HOJJ) divulged one of her secrets today just to save your sorry behind, and several others downstairs.” It turns out…the response teams had been making their way up the floors all morning, in relative radio silence, taking care of problems and getting help where it was needed. Radio silence was necessary so inmates could not listen to conversations about tactical movements. Ear pieces were not a part of our equipment in the 80’s. They are now.
Now about the grey lady’s secret.
Long ago, during HOJJ’s construction period, a secret stairwell was built on the northwest corner of the building. It was used for years during the 1930’s through 50’s by people who needed freedom of movement without being noticed (I’ll let your imagination do the rest). When it was no longer needed, the stairwell doors leading out were locked tight and sealed shut in order to maintain security. The stairwell was never included in floor plans for training purposes and few knew of its existence at all. Its exit doors had been well hidden and its door locks used special keys. HOJJ you naughty girl.
Midnight came and I was released to go home. I reunited with my family and we talked about the events of the day. I would later receive a commendation for bravery, or going above and beyond, or best acting role in faking courage, I can’t remember.
HOJJ did us proud that day. We were told later that the building was actually built atop giant rollers in the foundation which is why it swayed so violently yet did not collapse. Unfortunately, the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 finished her off and HOJJ was closed for good. The jail that time forgot was no more.
A 200 million dollar renovation project has been recently initiated to re-open the Hall of Justice sometime in 2014. If you’re ever unfortunate enough to be in Los Angeles and have an hour or two to kill….pay a visit to the grey lady; and tell her Mike says hi……….and thanks.
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