Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving three years in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from USC. He later became involved in city politics, as an associate of Sam Yorty, and later a field deputy to City Council members Billy Mills and Tom Bradley. He was briefly director of the Model Cities program in 1973. Rolland J. Curtis died in his home in 1979, the victim of a homicide. An affordable housing complex on Exposition Blvd. near Vermont Ave. was named in his honor in 1981, along with a nearby street and park. Pictured are: (l-r) Councilman Gilbert Lindsay; Captain Walter P. Koenig, Commander of the Hollenbeck Division of the Los Angeles Police Department; and Councilman James Harvey Brown. Koenig received a commendation at the time of his retirement after serving twenty six years on the force. The event took place at Los Angeles City Hall on July 3, 1964. See photos 00053377; 00053458; 00128510, 00128511, and 00143504 through 00143514 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w;10x13 cm. Photographic prints
Brown, James Harvey Koenig, Walter Lindsay, Gilbert Los Angeles City Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.) Los Angeles (Calif.).--Police Department--Officials and employees African American men Men City council members Police chiefs Police City halls Award presentations Awards Certificates Seals (Insignia) Retirement Retirees Smiling Posing Los Angeles (Calif.)
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
