110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - 110° Magazine - July 2007 - Through the gates of Hell - Index

BRENTWOOD’S
NEW TOP COP
I’ve been able to build a life of integrity and service on
the foundation of an absolutely dysfunctional
upbringing. My childhood was marred by alcoholism,
mental illness, and domestic violence. My father was
an abusive drunk who smoked 2-3 packs of Palmolive
Reds every day. He was a chronic gambler, as well, and
would regularly get into debt, and then hock the
family’s assets.
Mom was bi-polar, which exacerbated the problem of
our home-life. She drank as a method of self-medication
— and she was usually taking her “medicine.”
Every seven to ten months our parents would wake us
kids in the middle of the night, and we would leave our
apartment and unpaid rent behind. We often lived in
our car or in a dormitory room in some family shelter.
With that kind of background, I got to know a lot
of police officers by name while I was still a young
person. Those “men in blue” came into the midst of
the hectic environment that surrounded me, bringing
with them a sense of peace, and calm intelligence
that strongly appealed to my shattered and
often traumatized psyche.
At a young age I made the decision that I wanted
to be like those officers and be able to provide for
others the shelter in the midst of emotional storms
that those guys had provided for me. As soon as I was
old enough I became a Police Explorer with the Santa
Monica Police Department.
When I was 16, things got so bad at home that I
tried to enlist in the Army by lying about my age. I
almost made it too! The recruiter told me to come back
when I was 17, which is exactly what I did! I dropped
out of high school and became a soldier in 1976.
SERGEANT EVENSON, US ARMY
One of the attractions of Army life was that it offered
the possibility of a shortcut into law enforcement. I
told the recruiter that I wanted to be an MP. The man
told me that Airborne Ranger was all they had open.
Then he lied to me:
“When you turn 18 just tell your commanding officer
that you want to be an MP and he’ll switch you over.
There won’t be any problem.”
When I turned 18 I quoted the recruiter’s comments to
my commanding officer and he and the others in my
barracks died laughing.
I spent five years in the Airborne Rangers, which is
the battalion-size Special Forces group. My specialty
was Forward Observer tasked with calling in fire
support from artillery, aircraft, and ships.
Mark came to Brentwood
last fall. His story seems
to be that of a person
who has spent a lifetime
getting ready for his new
position as Brentwood’s
Chief of Police.
by Mark Evenson
Images by Russell Byrne
July 2007 www.110mag.com 17