Brad Waite

Brad was born in Lewistown, Montana on 7-11-27. He moved with his family to Long Beach, CA in January, 1928.

Brad attended school in Long Beach and graduated in 1944 at the age of 17. He joined the Navy and spent two years in the Pacific Theater.

Brad and three of his friends decided to head for Alaska and drive trucks. On the way to Alaska they stopped off in Seattle and never made it to Alaska. He went to a smoke

Prepared by Stan Bressler

shop and tossed the dice to get a pack of cigarettes. It seems the shop let you toss the dice for anything you bought. If you won you didn’t have to pay for whatever you were going to buy. If you lost you had to pay double. It seems Brad was so good at winning that the owner hired him to work in the shop. He spent a year there.

Brad and his friends lived in an apartment while he was in Seattle and they could only have two people staying there so for all of them to stay, they had to climb through the back window at night.

After a year, Brad decided it was time to get back to CA and get his education. He returned to Long Beach and enrolled in Long Beach State CA.

In Feb. of ‘49 Brad was living in Fullerton with a girl friend. He had to make a phone call one day and the only phone booth was in front of the Fullerton Police Department. After he made his call he went in the station and met Chief Ernie Garner. The Chief asked Brad if he wanted a job and the next thing Brad knew he was a Fullerton Police Officer. His salary was a whooping $305.00 a month. The OC Sheriff’s Department had a short training class and the FBI had a 3 day class for new officers and Brad was sworn in.

Brad worked for Fullerton for 11 years, spending time in Patrol, Traffic and Motors. Brad said that one day he went down on his motor and slid through some gravel right into the bank parking lot. He ripped the whole seat out of his motor pants and his rear end was exposed to all the people going by. The ambulance came and got him to the hospital where a nice caring nurse started picking the gravel out of his derriere. He said the nurse poured a whole bottle of rubbing alcohol in that area without any warning and it was very painful. (Wonder if Brad had written her a ticket once.) Anyway Brad said he had an argument with the Chief one day and he told the Chief what he could do with his job and quit. (Don’t know what the argument was about.)

Brad worked for the CA Youth Authority for 3 years, Theodore Robbins for 8 years, and Maxey Toyota for 10 years.

In 1990 Brad needed something to do so he became a volunteer at CMPD. He worked traffic control and special events.

In 1994 Brad came to Newport and Tim Newman hired him as a volunteer. At Newport he was in charge of the radar board, worked special events, vacation checks and trailering motor cycles to Riverside so new riders could do their training.

Brad is remembered for being in charge of 3 golf tournaments while he was a volunteer. Brad retired in 2003 and after being recommended for honorary membership to the Retiree’s Association by Howard Eisenberg, joined the Newport family again.

Brad met his wife, Sandi at a Christmas party in 1966 and after talking to her for a few minutes told her he was going to marry her. Three months later they were married. Sandi and Brad live in Costa Mesa. They have 3 children: 2 girls and 1 boy.

Interviewed by Stan Bressler