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William W.
Wilhelm was a motorcycle officer for the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1950s and 1960s.
His book, Code Two and a Half
“offers a fascinating look at the career of an LAPD motor officer during the fifties and sixties, through boredom, tickets,
riots and earthquakes. Take a trip down the highway with Bill Wilhelm - his nostalgic memoir shows there's not all that much
difference between patrolling on a Harley in Los Angeles and patrolling on a subway train in New York City.” According to retired Chief of Police, Melvin W. Mouser, “Bill's short stories as a motor officer
for the LAPD are an historical account of man against machine, odds and circumstances. To have ridden a million-plus miles...is
a tribute to the grit and dedication of those road warriors of the era.”
One reader of Code Two 'n a Half said, “Wilhelm
was a motorcycle cop in Los Angeles and if you think this is just a job writing traffic tickets you are wrong. This man went
through the Watts riots, the Sylmar earthquake, and the Northridge student riots and has the scars and broken bones to prove
it. With over a million motoring miles, he has seen it all - violent drunks, silly drunks, naked women, beheaded accident
victims, high-speed chases, and near-death experiences. It is a wonder he is alive, and in fact many of his career partners
are not - dead through criminal violence or accident while doing their best to "protect and serve" the citizenry
of Los Angeles. The book is well written and entertaining throughout. He loved his career but it didn't make me want to
become a motorcycle cop. But that is my problem.”
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