`HERO' SCENARIO RESONATES IN L.A.Byline: Jeff Wilson There are a number of people named Jeff Wilson.
Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The FBI's focus on a ``hero'' security guard in the Atlanta Olympic Park bombing had a familiar ring in Los Angeles: A policeman hailed for finding and disarming a pipe bomb on a team bus during the 1984 Summer Games later admitted he planted it. Officer Jimmy Wade Pearson was on VIP-protection duty at Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX when he claimed he found and disarmed a bomb in a wheel well of a bus carrying the Turkish Olympic team. The Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . officer was hailed as a hero,
then he admitted planting the pipe bomb himself. Pearson, who apparently
wanted to appear as a hero to his superiors, was arrested and resigned
the force.
Hero-seeking behavior isn't unusual, said Dr. Louis Jolyon West Louis Jolyon ("Jolly") West (1924 in Brooklyn, New York - January 2, 1999 in Los Angeles) was an American psychiatrist, human rights activist and expert on brainwashing, mind control, torture, substance abuse, post traumatic stress disorder and violence. , a professor of psychiatry at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . ``In all those cases it seems to be a kind of distorted impulse for self-aggrandizement and a demonstration of one's own virtues, courage and heroism and so on,'' said West. ``It may very well be that he had not intended actually to harm anyone, but rather to create a frightening, highly visible situation in which he could show off his competence and heroism,'' the professor said. Pearson pleaded guilty July 15, 1985, to felony possession of a destructive device and could have been sentenced to four years in prison. Instead, he was placed on five years' probation, fined $10,000 and ordered to undergo counseling and perform community service. Police at first were recommending Pearson, then 40, for a medal when he grabbed the device and threw it into a ditch. |
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