COMPASSION EX-COP'S STRENGTH.PALMDALE - Bob Lucas looks back on his 25 years as a Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. police detective as good ones. He stands out as a cop of integrity whose official and unofficial conduct earned him many awards and honors, including a 3-foot-high trophy and numerous commendations. Doris, his late wife of 47 years, chronicled his feats and awards in a scrapbook A Macintosh disk file that holds frequently used text and graphics objects, such as a company letterhead. Contrast with "clipboard," which is reserved memory that holds data only for the current session. . He spent two decades working in the juvenile division, which he enjoyed because it afforded him the opportunity to initiate programs to put wayward youths - especially runaways - back on the right track. ``They were mostly girls and they needed someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. to go and think things over,'' he said. ``I put together a program, with the cooperation of some of the churches, that gave them a chance to review their options.'' Even during the five years he spent working with adult offenders, his compassionate side was evident. On one occasion he took a report from a woman whose purse was stolen as she rode a bus. After taking the report, Lucas offered her enough money for food and bus fare Noun 1. bus fare - the fare charged for riding a bus or streetcar carfare fare, transportation - the sum charged for riding in a public conveyance home. The woman wrote a thank-you letter to Lucas' superior officer, generating one of his many commendations. Lucas also recalled the day he walked into a bank to cash a check and discovered a robbery had just occurred. He ran after the fleeing robber - a chase that was captured on the bank's surveillance tape. He caught the suspect, cuffed him and arrested him. ``Later, an FBI guy said, I want to show you what you look like in action, and showed me this picture,'' he said. A photo taken from the videotape showed Lucas sprinting after the suspect. In gratitude, the bank gave Lucas a 3-foot-high trophy depicting a crouching uniformed officer, his gun drawn. His instinct also came into play when he and his partner were on a routine patrol and made a routine check of a local liquor store. They became worried when the proprietor failed to give them his usual wave as they passed. ``When he didn't wave, we knew something was wrong,'' he said. ``My partner went in through the front while I went around to the back. Sure enough, there was a robbery in progress. She flushed him, and I got the guy as he came out.'' Lucas was born and raised in Sullivan, Ind., and moved to Burbank to work for Lockheed in 1942, shortly after graduating from high school. He served in the Navy during World War II, then went to work for Northrop Aircraft. After working several years for the company, Lucas changed careers and graduated from the Riverside Police Academy. He was assigned to the Culver City Police Department, where he remained until he retired. He's proud of the fact that he was one of Culver City's top marksmen and that in 1993 he was named to the American Police Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Doris, wanted to retire together, but in 1978 Doris wasn't ready to retire, he said. ``A friend of mine pointed out that I didn't have any Social Security credits from the department, so I went to work again for 12 more years with McDonnell-Douglas.'' In 1990, he and Doris both retired. She died of cancer in 1996. Lucas is now active in the Lancaster First Christian Church First Christian Church can refer to:
Bereavement refers to the period of mourning and grief following the death of a beloved person or animal. The English word bereavement support group and goes fishing whenever he can. A John Wayne buff, he loves to watch all of the late star's old movies, and his memorabilia of the actor fill one room in his home. Eventually, he plans to do a little traveling. ``I'm still pretty healthy, so I can do just about whatever I want to. I like the feeling,'' he said. < Following is this week's menu for senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster, Palmdale and South Valley. Meals include bread and margarine and coffee, tea or milk. A $2 donation is requested. Monday: Hamburger patty, macaroni macaroni: see pasta. salad, carrots, tomato, onion and lettuce salad, and orange. Tuesday: Lemon chicken Lemon chicken (Traditional Chinese: ) is a common dish from many different countries. In American Chinese cuisine it usually consists of pieces of chicken meat that are sautéed or deep-fried and coated with a lemon-flavored , sweet potatoes, green beans green beans Noun, pl long narrow green beans that are cooked and eaten as a vegetable , marinated beets, pineapple juice and ice cream. Wednesday: Roast pork, cornbread dressing, stewed stewed adj. 1. Cooked by stewing: stewed prunes. 2. Informal Intoxicated; drunk. stewed Adjective 1. tomatoes, coleslaw cole·slaw also cole slaw n. A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots, dressed with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette. and apple cobbler. Thursday: Macaroni and cheese with ham, spinach, lettuce and tomato salad, juice, and peaches. Friday: Swedish meatballs, parsleyed noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. , Normandy vegetables, tossed salad and banana. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Bob Lucas of Palmdale shows off some of the John Wayne memorabilia that fill one whole room of his house. Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News |
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