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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1971)
Police informer admits undercover role By JERRY COHEN (c) 1971, The Los Angeles Times (Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on Louis Tackwood, a Los Angeles police informer.) Among other claims, newsmen confirmed that he was indeed a longtime police informer—if not necessarily an informer on militant matters and an agent provocateur. In a 1966 report, a probation officer wrote: “Los Angeles Police Depart ment officers report that this defendant in the past worked for them as a reliable informant and had been extremely helpful to them in recovering stolen cars and the apprehension of a number of car thieves.” Court documents also showed that he had done suspiciously little “hard time” despite a long record of arrest and conviction, mostly for auto theft. Other points of confirmation include: The two Black Berkeley City Councilmen corroborated his claim that he had worked in their campaign. Surprisingly, they added, he had admitted to them he was working as an undercover operator lor cil. —A motel manager remem bers him being registered with “two White men”—CII agents, Tackwood claims—about the time of the election campaign in Berkeley and at the time he claims he was spying on militants “up north.” —As recently as April, 1970, Tackwood was considered reliable enough for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office to use him as a witness at a trial. His testimony, the prosecutor concedes, con tributed, as Tackwood claims, “to putting the defendant on death row.” —Newsmen discovered that the “tapped” telephone he had spoken of did indeed have an extention into a Los Angeles police station. Then, two weeks ago, the “missing” Louis Tackwood surfaced. He denied the charges at tributed to him by the Young Leftists. He even denied making the tapes for them. He said Duggan and Ms Katz were associates of the most violent sort of activists, and, “Like I told CCS first...these are dangerous, tight people. He said he never had met Karenga and had not become acquainted with Cotton Smith until recently, after the raid on Panther headquarters. Later that day, double agent Tackwood, true to form, con tacted the Young Leftists and told them he had been pressured by police and D.A. investigators to make the denials. He also told them his “disappearance” in deed had resulted froi.. police seizure and that he had spent the prior three weeks in various jails. Next day, when newsmen in terviewed him, Tackwood flip flopped again. He told reporters he had not Emerald Baptist Church Worship Sunday at 631 E. 19th Church School 9:45 Worship Service 11:00 College Fellowship 5:30 Evening Service 7 p.m. been in jail during his three-week absence but had been hiding out voluntarily. He said he was afraid of both the police and the Young Lef tists—the former because they might jail him on an old charge, the latter because they might do him bodily harm. But he stuck to the substance of the allegations he had made to the Duggan-Katz-McCarthy faction about the CSS and SIS. Hoping to obtain some sort of independent evaluation of Tack wood’s credibility—for guidance if nothing more—the Times, the Post and Newsweek employed a polygraph operator when Tack wood volunteered to take a lie detector test. lacnwuua was piacea in me hands of one of the most highly regarded lie detection experts in the world, Chris Gugas, past president and current board chairman of the American Polygraph Assn. The Young Radicals learned from Tackwood of the planned test, and, he claims, tried to dissuade him from taking it. But last Wednesday, he sub mitted to the examinations by Gugas after attorney Dan Lund, claiming to represent him legally, approved the questions that he would allow Tackwood to answer. During questioning that is routine before a subject is put on the lie box, Tackwood greatly diluted the thrust of his allegations. But on the advice of Lund, he said he would not answer questions on the lie box about either, lest he be liable to con spiracy charges. For the same reason, he declined to answer while being polygraphed his contention that he had passed CCS secrets to Duggan and Katz. These are crucial questions, of course, and if he had permitted them while on the box, they could have established he was lying about Karenga and the Mosque. But Tackwood passed with flying colors while being polygraphed other questions which Gugas described as “critical” in determining a subject’s truthfulness. In his report, Gugas noted “no deception indicated” when Tackwood was asked such questions as: —Did you knowingly lie to District Attorney’s represen tatives last week by direction? —Were you told by an LAPD officer that Cotton Smith was a police informer in the Panthers before the raid on Panther headquarters? —Did the police prevent your prosecution in criminal activities committed by you in return for your help as an informer? —Did you participate with the FBI to locate a Black Militant training center in the Santa Cruz (Calif.) area (presumably both before and after the Marin County shootout? —Were you advised by two LAPD officers on how to stay out of prison by claiming heroin addiction? —Did LAPD officer Bob Sherret (CSS Sgt. Robert Sherrett, according to Tack wood tell you that they had prior knowledge to the George Jackson breakout? Tackwood, according to Gugas, told the truth in his response to the “critical” questions he was permitted to ask while polygraphing him. Or, at least, said Gugas, Tack wood believed he was telling the truth. In his evaluation of Tackwood, Gugas observed: “The fact that he has been used successfully in many police in vestigations over the past several years would certainly indicate that Mr. Tackwood not only could produce information but knew just how to get it... “The subject admitted he was playing a dangerous game and also admitted that his illegal activities, prompted by Duggan and others, caused him to get into the present trouble... “The writer is of the opinion that Mr. Tackwood is an op portunist who will work for the highest price...he admitted that he had perjured himself and people sent to jail. He also ad mitted that he was an informer on many people who still think he is their friend. “The Examiner, taking all this into consideration, is still of the opinion that Louis Tackwood-did answer all the critical questions truthfully on his examination that Mr. Tackwood’s statements have considerable validity.” Following the lie test last Wednesday, Tackwood abruptly volunteered that he thought he needed “protection” from both the police and the Young Leftists. He suggested the D.A.’s office might be the one to provide it. In return for a “guarantee”, he said he would repeat the substance of what he told Gugas and news men—which varied greatly from the original allegations. The guarantee he wanted was immunity from prosecution for conspiracy. He also volunteered to take a lie test from a district attorney’s polygraph operator. Informed of Tackwood’s wish, a representative of the D.A.’s office approved. The D.A.’s office was anxious to talk to Tackwood, he added, and he felt certain some sort of immunity could be worked out. Next morning, Thursday, Tackwood reappeared in Gugas’ office because Gugas hoped for clarification of some of his questions. Tackwood was accompanied by the Young Leftists and Lund. ‘ He pushed a note toward Gugas which said he had been kept “prisoner” by Duggan and Katz the previous night and proclaiming that he wanted to dismiss Lund as his legal representative. Shortly after, the Times reporter, at the request of and within earshot of district at torney’s representatives, called Gugas’ office and asked for Tack wood. Tackwood was asked if he was “certain” that he still wanted to COUPON Good for 1 FREE Game of pool at Health Food & Pool Store Now open 10 to 10 every day 145 North 3rd - Springfield "featuring organic pool sharks" COUPON ************************* talk to the district attorney’s people. “Yes,” Tack wood replied. Two investigators drove Tack wood from Gugas’ office to the Los Angeles Hall of Justice where he was questioned briefly by representatives of the district attorney’s office which an nounced it had launched a formal investigation into his allegations. He then was released, having agreed to return at 1 p.m. Friday to submit to a polygraph examination. Now what was disintegrating into a charade took another flip flop—and so did Louis Tackwood. Instead of keeping his 1 p.m. appointment, Tackwood returned to the bosom of the Duggan-Katz faction, which proclaimed at a press conference at a local FM radio station next day that D.A.’s investigators had “kidnapped” him from Gugas’ office. Star performer at the press conference was none other than the mercurial Louis Tackwood, who repeated his original allegations. A D.A. spokesman then an nounced his office was aban doning its investigation of the informer’s charges, releasing this statement: “There will be no further in vestigation because of a lack of credibility and good faith on the part of Tackwood in refusing to take the lie test.” Los Angeles Police Chief Edward M. Davis, who had refused to permit CSS and SIS officers named by Tack wood to be questioned by the press because “an investigation is in progress,” also released a statement. It said: “A Bolshevik has been working for two weeks to plant a false story involving the President of the United States and the LAPD. I think such a story would appear in Pravda. But I am surprised to hear that Los Angeles reporters are listening to the story.” And there the matter rests. 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