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Sample
Excerpt
From the Preface
Isaiah
Wrigley Lees was a remarkable man. As a San Francisco police detective
for nearly fifty years, few could equal his investigative skills or
length of service in fighting crime in the early West. “Above all men,”
stated a superior court judge at Lees' death, “who have ever been
connected with the administration of justice in California, Isaiah W.
Lees has done more to vindicate the law and discourage crime.” It was a
fitting tribute to one of the most colorful, and little-known, of
California's pioneer lawmen.
When Isaiah Lees joined the San Francisco Police Department in late
1853, a new era had dawned. The old nightwatchman and constable system
of law enforcement was evolving into organized departments better
equipped to combat the riots and crime of a growing nation. New ideas
and methods were being explored and introduced. There was debate over
police uniforms, as well as the new concept of detective officers
specializing in criminal investigation and solving crimes.
Lees' police career was all the more significant in light of the setting
for his adventures. His story encompasses the beginnings of the
rambunctious, gold rush village of San Francisco as it evolved into the
financial metropolis of the Pacific Coast. Lees watched as his friends
Peter Donahue, Michael de Young, John Nightingale and others acquired
fortunes while creating a mighty city. But in the background, in
sinister alleys and dead of night, detective Lees worked ceaselessly to
maintain order and make his city safe from the spoilers and desperadoes.
Although one of the first west coast police detectives, Lees' methods
and the law he sought to uphold were curiously similar to those of
today. Then, as now, there were enough legal loopholes to enable a good
criminal lawyer to win release of clients on a frightfully frequent
basis. Although convictions on circumstantial evidence were much easier
to obtain then, the law was still quite liberal in Lees’ time. Even at
that early period a police officer worked under rules and regulations.
And, strict enforcement of the law was usually monitored quite closely
by the press.
It is remarkable that Lees appeared on the San Francisco scene when he
did and he became the embodiment of the old adage—the right man in the
right place at the right time. After trying his hand at various
occupations, he found exactly what he was suited for. From the beginning
he was the quintessential detective, the tireless investigator who
carefully assembled his clues until they made sense. No miracle worker
or Sherlock Holmes, Lees always worked very hard to resolve a crime. But
he did more. In retrospect, it's clear that he practiced a rudimentary
form of criminal psychology, even though he wouldn't have known the
meaning of the term.
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