PASADENA, California 鈥� It was a bad day when undercover officer Joe Halpin discovered he was being followed by the Los Angeles Police Department. A veteran of the Los Angeles Sheriff鈥檚 Department for 18 years, Halpin knew a tail when he saw one.
鈥淚 was driving and I noticed someone off to my right, and the way he sat in his car,鈥� says Halpin.
鈥淚 thought: 鈥楾hat guy must be an off-duty cop.鈥� I kept driving, made a right, and the guy went with me. I thought: 鈥楾hat鈥檚 strange,鈥� made another right, and then he and other cars went with me too.
鈥淪o I thought: 鈥楴ow we鈥檙e going into a circle, so I鈥檓 being followed.鈥� I pulled into an ATM and I pretended I was walking up to the ATM and watched them park. And they backed into spaces, which is another tell because cops always want to get out fast. So I started walking toward one of them, and as soon as I did, he took off.
鈥淚 got his plate, and I was in an undercover car, a truck. I ran the plate, and it came back 鈥榥o record on file,鈥� which tells me they鈥檙e cops.鈥�
Halpin called his lieutenant at headquarters. 鈥淚 said: 鈥楳urray, I鈥檓 being followed.鈥� He goes: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e being paranoid.鈥� A half-hour later he called and said: 鈥極K, somebody is following.鈥� I found out later that my department was following me, but they got worried that there would be ramifications from that, so they farmed it out to LAPD, and I burned them on the first day.鈥�
It turned out Halpin was suspected of falsifying search warrants and consent forms, but nothing came of it. Nothing, that is, but a new career.
At this point, Halpin was scraping bottom. He was suffering the breakup of his marriage and being investigated by his own. 鈥淭hat was really the turning point for me. I said: 鈥業鈥檓 no longer effective as a cop. Obviously they鈥檝e lost confidence in me because they feel like I鈥檓 doing things illegal. I鈥檝e lost confidence in myself because I don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 the same guy that first pinned on the badge.鈥� I thought: 鈥業鈥檓 not doing anybody any good and I could end up like a lot of cops 鈥� being either a drunk or a madman at the end of the career.鈥� 鈥�
A short time later, Halpin sold his first spec script. He has been working in Hollywood ever since on shows such as Hawaii Five-O, Secrets and Lies and The Lottery.
His latest series, The Oath, premi猫ring on Crackle on Thursday, reveals a little-known fact about law enforcement that won鈥檛 go down easy. It seems some cops form real gangs 鈥� sort of fraternal organizations that unite the officers in an omerta that occasionally blurs the line between the letter of the law and expediency.
鈥淭he gang starts out with people with their backs against the wall and protecting each other,鈥� says Halpin. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in this weird world when you鈥檙e a street cop. You don鈥檛 have support of the administrators because those are political people who are not going to do anything to defend you.
鈥淎nd then the public at large 鈥� every encounter you have is a negative one because cops aren鈥檛 called to any good situations, and you have to immediately take control of the situation. So you鈥檙e being bombarded by the negativity and dealing with the public that you end up banding together to protect each other.鈥�
The gangs pledge allegiance to each other and carry names such as the Vikings or the Cavemen. Halpin鈥檚 gang was the Reapers. Each gang member sports a defining tattoo. Pulling up his pants cuff, Halpin reveals his inscribed on his ankle. Each symbol within the tattoo identifies the gang.
