Doug Dein

In 1954 the cost of two complete uniforms was $96.15, including the leather. Your gun was $53.00. From the 1950’s to early 60’s, Property Officers and Animal Control Officers did double duty. There weren’t any dial telephones. If you needed to call into the station, you went to a payphone, announce yourself, and indicate you needed ‘Harbor 1’ and you were connected to the police department.

There was a red light on a pole at the base of Newport pier indicating you needed to call the station. It was limiting, but for the times, it worked. Such were the initial days of law enforcement for Doug Dein at Newport Beach Police Department in January of 1954. Where were you in 1954? In the beginning, Doug couldn’t afford to have his own handcuffs and case. Chief Upson loaned him his for about a month. A Police Officer’s monthly salary was $295. You didn’t go to ‘an academy’. Doug Dein, and his gracious wife, resides in the western Sierra Nevada foothill town of Paradise east of Chico in Northern California. He celebrated his 30th anniversary of retirement on July 5th from Newport Beach. It was his only agency. Doug was born in Pasadena, CA August 1st, 1922. His father was a brakeman/switchman on the railroad in San Pedro for the Harbor Beltline. His mother was a full time housewife taking care of Doug and his brother. He attended San Pedro High School. Since there wasn’t an academy, he took 65 units at Orange Coast College. The Chief would give you a badge, a ‘10 code’ booklet, and you bought everything else. You were then placed in a unit with another officer. The philosophy then was ‘go gettem’ boy!’. Jerry Irwin,’ Whispering Pete’, Ed ‘Gummie or Gumdrops’ Lynch, and Phil Hall were among his first partners. (Laura Lynch, a long time friend, worked at the Jolly Roger Restaurant with a young Stan Bressler.) After you passed your probation, you were required to move into the city limits. This regulation was in effect until 1965. Starting in 1943, prior to his law enforcement career, Doug spent 3 years (and 15 days) in the Signal Corp as an intercept radio operator. He received his training in Athens, GA. He was assigned to a post 12 miles outside of Petaluma, CA called Two Rock Ranch, disguised as a sheep ranch but was an intercept station with 28 large antennas. They would copy Japanese and Russian code. The Japanese had their own written symbol language called katakana. You used to have to pass a code test at 13 words a minute, which isn’t required anymore with modern technology. Code was efficient. There wasn’t a problem with over modulation as with talking on a radio. Today he has unlimited privileges on any frequency or band. He has 3 antennas on his premises. It keeps the old mind going. Until recently, Doug remained active with the ham radio unit organizations. When he started at the department, the station was in the back of City Hall on 32nd Street. There were 12 or 13 officers in patrol. 10 was his first badge number. There were 4 cells in the back of the station. Most of the time there were a few trusty’s assigned to the station. The department would feed them by escorting them to a little café across the street three times a day. There were no complaints about the food. One incident in the beginning of his career Doug recalled was his first major traffic accident investigation. It was a particularly tragic event involving an oil tanker truck and vehicle with kids at Balboa Blvd. and West Coast Highway. You executed the entire investigation. You were it. Then there was the young man who broke his neck diving into Back Bay. Certain encounters with the public remain in your memory for the rest of your life. Easter week was already a big event but it didn’t involve the violence that ensued in subsequent years. Kids would mill about, have parties and of course drink too much. The department switched to one-man units around 1960 for additional coverage. There was skepticism and doubt if this one-man unit concept would work. If you were the person driving the car, how could you do proper patrol work and look for prowlers too. Doug spent some time working the desk as a report writer and all associated duties. A significant part of Doug’s career was the department photographer as a one-man photo lab. He would photograph all crime scenes with a 45 speed graphic camera. He would process all of the black and white film. At that time, it was difficult to enter a colored photograph into a court proceeding because of the possibility it would ‘inflame the jury’. Doug remained in this assignment until retirement. This position required many hours in the helicopter taking aerial photographs. Many official city event photos from this era are his work. Doug was instrumental in the design and set up of the photo lab for the new station. I viewed many of Doug’s CSI photographs his photographic technique was truly an art. On another occasion, ‘Bob’, a motor, and Doug were assigned to respond to a 901 at Balboa and PCH from Balboa and Main. When approaching the intersection of Balboa and 15th, a vehicle abruptly executed a left turn in front of them. At 40 mph, Bob made an evasive move to the left towards the rear of the approaching car but kissed the rear bumper and went end over end. The motor officer was unconscious. The driver of the car was placed under arrest for reckless driving. The defendant’s defense in court was he did not see the motorcycle and unit approaching him code 3. Geranium flowers had blocked his view. Doug testified the flowers in question were 12-14 inches high. The accident had left Bob’s arms partially paralyzed due to nerve injury from the impact and striking the street. The motor was totaled. Over the years, Doug accumulated a vast array of department artifacts and scrapbooks filled with newspaper articles. Some of the memorabilia was given to Lee Roberts and a few are on display in the new lobby cases. He even has a black and white sign attached to the wall above his desk indicating ‘report writing’. Directly after retirement, Doug and his wife moved to Chester about 70 miles up the hill from Paradise. They enjoy all four seasons in Paradise but not with the severe snow as Chester. Along with his ham radio group, Doug drove school bus for handicapped students in Paradise. Mr. and Mrs. Dein have been married 63 years. I’ve got the feeling there are many more to come. Update and photo Prepared by Anita Fisher