Jump to content

David Mack (police officer): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Rollback edit(s) by 89.47.246.20 (talk): Vandalism (RW 16.1)
 
(178 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox police officer
{{short description|American runner and police officer convicted for bank robbery}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2020}}
|name = David Anthony Mack

|image = David Mack mug shot.jpg
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2012}}
|caption = Mug shot of Mack

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|5|30}}
{{Infobox person
|badgenumber =
| name = David Mack
|birth_place = [[Compton, California]], [[USA]]
|nickname =
| image = David Mack.png
| other names = D. Mack
|department = [[Los Angeles Police Department]]
| known_for = Convicted in connection with the [[Rampart Scandal|Rampart police corruption scandal]]
|service = United States
| birth_name = David Anthony Mack
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|5|30}}
| birth_place = [[Compton, California]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| module = {{Infobox sportsperson
| embed = yes
| country = {{USA}}
| sport = [[Track and Field]]
| event = [[800 meters]]
| universityteam = [[Oregon Ducks track and field|Oregon Ducks]]
| club = [[Santa Monica Track Club]]
| pb = {{ubl
|'''Outdoor''' <ref name="IAAF">{{cite web |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/david-mack-14357763 |author=IAAF |author-link=International Association of Athletics Federations |title=IAAF: ''David Mack - Athlete Profile'' |access-date=October 9, 2021}}</ref>
|'''[[600 meters|600 m]]:''' 1:14.15 ([[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]] 1986)
|'''[[800 meters|800 m]]:''' 1:43.35 ([[Koblenz, Germany|Koblenz]] 1985)
|'''[[1000 meters|1000 m]]:''' 2:16.90 ([[Edinburgh]] 1985)
|'''Indoor''' <ref name="IAAF" />
|'''[[1000 m]]:''' 2:21.43{{AthAbbr|i|indoors}} ([[East Rutherford, New Jersey|East Rutherford]] 1983)
}}
}}
| module2 = {{Infobox police officer
| embed = yes
|department = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Los Angeles Police Department.png}} [[Los Angeles Police Department]]
|service = {{USA}}
|allegiance = {{flag|Los Angeles}}
|serviceyears = 1988–1997
|serviceyears = 1988–1997
|rank = {{plainlist |
|rank = Sworn in as an officer – 1988<br>[[File:LAPD Police Officer-3.jpg|21px]] – Police Officer III<br>[[File:LAPD Police Officer-3+1 - Senior Lead Officer.jpg|20px]] – Senior Lead Officer
* Sworn in as an officer – 1988
|awards = [[File:Policemedal.JPG|20px]] – LAPD Medal for Heroism
* Police Officer II
|relations = Divorced, 2 children
* [[File:LAPD Police Officer-3.jpg|25px]] Police Officer III
|laterwork = Convicted in connection to the [[Rampart Scandal|Rampart police corruption scandal]]
* [[File:LAPD Police Officer-3+1 - Senior Lead Officer.jpg|25px]] Senior Lead Officer
}}
}}
|awards = [[File:Policemedal.JPG|25px]] [[LAPD Medal for Heroism]]
'''David Anthony Mack''' (born May 30, 1961), is a former [[Los Angeles Police Department|LAPD]] [[LAPD Rampart Division|Rampart Division]] [[Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums|Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH)]] officer. He is one of the central figures in the [[Los Angeles Police Department|LAPD]] [[Rampart scandal|Rampart police corruption scandal]]. Mack was arrested on November 6th, 1997, for robbery of $722,000 from a [[South Los Angeles|South Central Los Angeles]] branch of [[Bank of America]]. He was sentenced to 14 years and three months in federal prison.<ref name="PBS">[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/scandal/cron.html PBS.org Timeline of Rampart Scandal]</ref> Mack has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.
}}
}}

'''David Anthony Mack''' (born May 30, 1961) is a former professional [[Track and field|runner]] and [[Los Angeles Police Department]] (LAPD) officer involved in the [[LAPD Rampart Division|Rampart Division]]'s [[Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums]] (CRASH) unit. He was one of the central figures in the LAPD [[Rampart scandal|Rampart police corruption scandal]]. Mack was arrested in December 1997 for [[robbery]] of $722,000 from a [[South Los Angeles|South Central Los Angeles]] branch of the [[Bank of America]]. He was sentenced to fourteen years and three months in [[federal prison]]. Mack has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.


==Early life==
==Early life==
As an athlete, David Mack ran track for [[Locke High School]] and was champion at the [[CIF California State Meet]] at 880 yards for two years in a row.<ref name="Dyestat Cal"/>


He attended the [[University of Oregon]] where he ran track with his high school rival Jeff West. After West transferred to [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]], Mack considered following suit, but was convinced to stay at UO by coach [[Bill Dellinger]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Meek|first=Austin|title=Austin Meek: The improbable return of David Mack|url=https://www.registerguard.com/sports/20180712/austin-meek-improbable-return-of-david-mack|access-date=2021-10-10|website=The Register-Guard|language=en}}</ref> While in college, Mack dated world record holder in the 100m & 200m, [[Flo-Jo|Flo Jo]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Volk|first=Joe|title=Stable Boy: David Mack: A Story of Struggle, Success, Shadows, and Redemption|year=2021|publisher=Joe Volk |isbn=978-0578813097}}</ref> In 1980, as a freshman in college, he finished sixth in the [[United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]].<ref name="Hymans 2008" /> Mack won three [[Pac-10]] conference titles in the 800 and in his junior year, the [[NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships|NCAA Division I Championship]] in the 800 meters.


As a professional, Mack ran for [[Santa Monica Track Club]]. He qualified for the [[United States at the World Athletics Championships|United States national team]], running the [[1983 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 800 metres|800 metres]] in the [[1983 World Championships in Athletics]] but failed to advance to the final.<ref name="IAAF 1987" /> He was the [[Pacemaker (running)|rabbit]] in [[Sydney Maree]]'s 1500 meter world record and one week later rabbited [[Steve Ovett]] to surpass that record.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Schroeder|first=George|date=2008|title=Road From Eugene|work=[[The Register-Guard]]|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/ROAD+FROM+EUGENE.-a0180384295}}</ref> A stress fracture in his shin caused him to fail to make it out of the heats at the [[1984 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships|1984 USATF Championships]]. In 1985 he ran 1:43.35 seconds which at the time was the second fastest time ever by an American and still ranks 9th fastest.<ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. All-Time List — Men|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/tfn-lists/u-s-all-time-list-men/|access-date=2021-10-10|website=Track & Field News|language=en-US}}</ref> He failed to advance from the heats in the [[1987 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 800 metres|800m]] at the [[1987 World Championships in Athletics]].<ref name="Rolling Stone" /> Beset by fatigue from [[iron deficiency]], his last professional race was in 1988.


==Bank robbery==
A remarkable athlete, Mack ran for [[Locke High School]] and was champion at the [[CIF California State Meet]] at 880 yards, two years in a row.<ref>http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/stateres.htm Dyestatcal</ref> Mack earned a scholarship to the [[University of Oregon]], where he ran track and after finishing 6th in the [[United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]] in 1980,<ref>http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf</ref> eventually made the United States national team running the [[800 metres]] in the [[1987 World Championships in Athletics]].<ref name="Lawson">[http://edwardlawson.com/Rampart.html EdwardLawson.com]</ref><ref>[http://odeo.com/audio/550763/view Odeo.com]</ref> Mack won three Pac-10 conference titles and an NCAA championship in the 800 meters. As of 2008, Mack is still the fourth fastest American in history at 800 meters with a personal best of 1 minute, 43.35 seconds.<ref>[http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/lists/all_time/us_at_m.html Track and Field News: Lists: All-Time: U.S.: Men<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m_800ok.htm Men's 800m<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> A leg injury kept him out of the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] and eventually cut short his track career.
In August 1997, Mack's lover, Errolyn Romero, became employed at a [[Bank of America]] branch near the [[University of Southern California]] campus. On November 6, 1997, Mack entered the bank and claimed he wanted to access his [[safe deposit box]]. Romero admitted him to the secure area, where he threw her to the floor and [[robbery|robbed]] the vault of $722,000.


In her capacity as branch assistant manager, Romero had ordered double the usual amount of cash to be on hand at the bank on the day of the robbery. After one month of investigation, Romero confessed to her role in the crime and implicated Mack as the mastermind.<ref name="Edward Lawson"/> He was arrested in December 1997. His two accomplices were never caught.<ref name="Rolling Stone"/><ref name="Lodi News Sentinel"/>
Mack joined the [[Los Angeles Police Department|LAPD]] in 1988. He was married with two children. Before the scandal, Mack held the [[Police rank|rank]] of Senior Lead Officer (two chevrons above a star).


Mack was sentenced to fourteen years and three months in prison and has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.<ref name="PBS"/> He was released on May 14, 2010.<ref name="BOP"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Lawson|first=Edward|title=Rampart|url=http://edwardlawson.com/Rampart.html|access-date=October 7, 2013}}</ref>
==Early career==
He started out on patrol duty in the department's Southeast and [[Rampart Division]]s but soon was assigned to the Narcotics Bureau as an undercover narcotics officer. Soon after that, Mack gave up his assignment to the Narcotics Bureau to work the graveyard shift in [[West Los Angeles]]. He allegedly needed to spend more time with his wife, son and daughter. The flexibility of his new schedule also allowed Mack to devote more hours to his extracurricular activities. Among these was his relationship with Errolyn Romero, who was a nineteen-year-old ticket taker at the [[Baldwin Theatre]] when Mack began a relationship with her in 1990.


According to the [[Tupac Shakur|Tupac]] documentary ''Assassination: Battle for Compton'', citing official legal documents, a reliable jail informant by the name of Ken Boagni, who befriended Rafael Perez in prison, stated Perez claimed the money stolen in the bank robbery was intended to go to Harry Billups, also known as Amir Muhammed, who was friends with Mack, for allegedly carrying out the murder of late rapper Christopher Wallace, also known as [[Biggie Smalls]]. Because Billups failed to also murder [[Sean Combs]], the second intended target, Billups was not paid in full by his contractors, who are identified as Reggie Wright Jr. and David Kenner. Boagni claimed both Perez and Mack were involved in the murder of Wallace, but Billups was the shooter.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Assassination: Battle for Compton |last=Bond |first=Richard |type=Video |publisher=Bonded Films |year=2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kooi |first=Brandon R. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1243906336 |title=Seven highly effective police leaders : 1895-modern times |date=2022 |isbn=978-0-429-27222-6 |location=New York, NY |oclc=1243906336}}</ref>
===Medal for Heroism===
In 1993, Officer Mack was awarded the LAPD's second-highest medal, the Police Medal for Heroism, for shooting a drug dealer who had drawn a gun and taken aim at the head of his then-partner, Officer [[Rafael Pérez (police officer)|Rafael "Ray" Pérez]] during an undercover drug operation.


==Relation to the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.==
==Later career and corruption==
{{Main|Rampart scandal}}
===Bank robbery===
In April 2007, the estate of Christopher Wallace, a [[rapper]] who performed under the name [[The Notorious B.I.G.]], filed a [[wrongful death]] lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, which also named Mack, Pérez, and [[Nino Durden]] as defendants.
Mack was involved with Errolyn Romero in August 1997, when Romero went to work at the [[Bank of America]] branch at Jefferson Avenue and South Hoover Street, just north of the [[University of Southern California|USC]] campus. Normally the bank kept about $350,000 cash in the vault, but slightly more than double that amount had just been delivered by armored car on the morning of November 6, 1997, when a black male (Mack) wearing a three-piece gray suit, sunglasses and a tweed beret, walked into the bank and headed for the bulletproof door that separated the tellers from customers.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5933056/the_murder_of_the_notorious_big The Murder of the Notorious B.I.G. : Rolling Stone<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> After the man in the suit (Mack) told a security guard that he wanted to get into his [[safe deposit box]], Romero buzzed him through the first gate, then left her window and unlocked a second security door that opened into the vault area. Mack immediately shoved Romero to the floor, opened his suit jacket to reveal a [[Tec-9]] semiautomatic pistol hanging from a shoulder strap, pointed it at two women counting money and threatened them. By the time Mack and his two accomplices abandoned their white van a half-mile away, they had pulled off one of the largest heists in [[Los Angeles]] history.<ref name=autogenerated1 />


The lawsuit alleged that the officers conspired to murder Wallace, and that Pérez and Mack were present the night of the [[drive-by shooting]] which [[Murder of The Notorious B.I.G.|claimed his life]] on March 9, 1997.<ref name="Amended complaint"/> In 2010, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit against the city and the officers.<ref name="Lawsuit dismissed"/>
===Gang membership and alleged role in the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.===
{{Main|Rampart Scandal}}
Russell Poole had a largely unsupported theory that Mack was involved in the death of The Notorious B.I.G. Poole based his theory on the fact that many minorities had been admitted to the police force since the Rodney King beating, which implied that they (including Mack), were not qualified to be policemen and the fact that Mack owned an black impala similar to the one that was seen at B.I.G.'s murder scene. It was a common car. Another key fact on which Poole's theory depended was that Mack knew Suge Knight. According to both, they had never met.


==Depictions in media==
Mack was cleared in the L.A.P.D. Investigation of involvement in B.I.G's death. The wrongful death suit (based on Poole's theory) by the rapper's family against the city of Los Angeles.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18160791/ Wrongful death lawsuit]</ref> was dismissed. Mack had limited legal recourse to sue Poole for defamation, however, due to Mack's prior conviction mentioned supra.
In the biography film ''[[City of Lies]]'', David Mack is played by [[Shamier Anderson]]. The film features the 1997 bank robbery.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Debruge |first=Peter |date=2021-03-18 |title='City of Lies' Review: Could Johnny Depp Have the Answer to the Notorious B.I.G.'s Murder? |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/city-of-lies-review-notorious-big-1234933421/ |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>


[[Omar Gooding]] depicted Mack in the television series ''Unsolved''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/tv/article/Unsolved-launches-with-gripping-probe-of-12634101.php|title='Unsolved' launches with gripping probe of Tupac, Biggie killings}}</ref>
==Prison sentence==

Mack was released on May 14, 2010.<ref name="BOP">{{citeweb |url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=David&Middle=Anthony&LastName=Mack&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=87&y=15/ |title=Inmate Locator |publisher=Federal Bureau of Prisons |accessdate=May 1, 2010 }}</ref>. While in prison, he retrained in in the field of solar installation and has remained employed in that field.


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="Dyestat Cal">{{cite web |url=http://www.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/stateres.htm |title=California State Meet Results - 1915 to present |publisher=Hank Lawson |access-date=2012-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006092406/http://www.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/stateres.htm |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="Hymans 2008">
{{cite web
| last = Hymans
| first = Richard
| url = http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf
| title = The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track and Field
|year=2008
| publisher = [[USA Track & Field]]
| access-date =August 28, 2012
}}
</ref>

<ref name="IAAF 1987">{{cite web
| url = http://www2.iaaf.org/results/past/WCH87/data/M/800/Rh.html
| title = 2nd IAAF World Championships in Athletics Roma 28-Aug/06-Sep-87: 800 metres: Men: Heat
| publisher = [[International Association of Athletics Federations]]
| access-date = August 22, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120814235312/http://www2.iaaf.org/results/past/WCH87/data/M/800/Rh.html
| archive-date = August 14, 2012
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

<!-- Not in use (Note the ref with the same name in the article is a different cite)
<ref name="IAAF">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=0/sex=M/all=y/legal=A/disc=800/detail.html
| title = 800 Metres All Time
| publisher = International Association of Athletics Federations
| access-date =August 22, 2012
}}
</ref>
Not in use-->

<ref name="Rolling Stone">
{{cite magazine
| title = The Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.
| url = https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5933056/the_murder_of_the_notorious_big
| date = May 18, 2001
| magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]
| publisher = [[Jann Wenner]]
| access-date =August 22, 2012
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311233626/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5933056/the_murder_of_the_notorious_big
| archive-date = March 11, 2007
}}
</ref>

<ref name="Edward Lawson">
{{cite web
| title = Rampart
| url = http://edwardlawson.com/Rampart.html
| access-date = October 7, 2013
}}
</ref>

<ref name="Lodi News Sentinel">
{{cite news
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UO40AAAAIBAJ&sjid=KyEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=5588,6555584&dq=david+mack+robbery&hl=en
| title = LAPD officer suspected in $722,000 bank robbery
| date = December 20, 1997
| work = [[Lodi News-Sentinel]]
| publisher = Marty Weybret
| page = 10
| access-date =August 22, 2012
}}
</ref>

<ref name="PBS">
{{cite web
| url = https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/scandal/cron.html
| title = Rampart Scandal Timeline
| work = Frontline
| publisher = PBS
| access-date =August 22, 2012
}}
</ref>

<ref name="BOP">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=David&Middle=Anthony&LastName=Mack&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=87&y=15/
| title = Inmate Locator
| publisher = Federal Bureau of Prisons
| access-date =August 22, 2012
}}
</ref>

<ref name="Amended complaint">Amended Complaint, ''Estate of Christopher G.L. Wallace v. City of Los Angeles, et al.'', Civ. A. No. 2:07-cv-02956-JHN-RZ (C.D. Cal. May 27, 2008).</ref>

<ref name="Lawsuit dismissed">Estate of Christopher G.L. Wallace v. City of Los Angeles, et al., 2:07-cv-02956-FMC-RZx, slip op. at 4 (C.D. Cal. Apr 5, 2009) (Nguyen, J.).</ref>

}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*{{cite book | last = Poole | first = Russell | year = 2002 | title = LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal | publisher = Atlantic Monthly Press | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-87113-838-5 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Scott |first=Cathy |year=2000 |title=The Murder of Biggie Smalls |title-link=The Murder of Biggie Smalls |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-26620-2}}
*{{cite book | last = Scott | first = Cathy | year = 2002 – 2nd ed | title = [[The Killing of Tupac Shakur]] | publisher = Huntington Press | location = Nevada | isbn = 978-0-929712-20-8 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Scott |first=Cathy |date=2002 |title=The Killing of Tupac Shakur |title-link=The Killing of Tupac Shakur |edition=2nd |location=Las Vegas |publisher=Huntington Press |isbn=978-0-929712-20-8 |oclc=51268651}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Randall |year=2002 |title=LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal |url=https://archive.org/details/labyrinthdetecti00sull |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |isbn=978-0-87113-838-5}}
*{{cite book | last = Scott | first = Cathy | year = 2000 | title = [[The Murder of Biggie Smalls]] | publisher = [[St. Martin's Press]] | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-312-26620-2 }}


==External links==
==External links==
{{iaaf name|id=7538}}
*{{World Athletics}}


{{Rampart Scandal}}
{{Rampart Scandal}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, David}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Mack, David Anthony
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Corrupt American police officer
| DATE OF BIRTH =May 30, 1961
| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Compton, California]], [[USA]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, David Anthony}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:African-American police officers]]
[[Category:African-American police officers]]
[[Category:American bank robbers]]
[[Category:American bank robbers]]
[[Category:American middle distance runners]]
[[Category:American male middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:American police officers with criminal convictions]]
[[Category:American police officers convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Bloods]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Police Department officers]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Police Department officers]]
[[Category:Oregon Ducks track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:People from Compton, California]]
[[Category:Police officers convicted of robbery]]
[[Category:Police officers convicted of robbery]]
[[Category:Survivors of stabbing]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Compton, California]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from California]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:Locke High School alumni]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]

Latest revision as of 22:29, 17 December 2024

David Mack
Born
David Anthony Mack

(1961-05-30) May 30, 1961 (age 63)
Compton, California, U.S.
Other namesD. Mack
Known forConvicted in connection with the Rampart police corruption scandal
Sports career
Country United States
SportTrack and Field
Event800 meters
University teamOregon Ducks
ClubSanta Monica Track Club
Sports achievements and titles
Personal bests
Police career
Country United States
Allegiance Los Angeles
Department Los Angeles Police Department
Service years1988–1997
Rank
  • Sworn in as an officer – 1988
  • Police Officer II
  • Police Officer III
  • Senior Lead Officer
Awards LAPD Medal for Heroism

David Anthony Mack (born May 30, 1961) is a former professional runner and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer involved in the Rampart Division's Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit. He was one of the central figures in the LAPD Rampart police corruption scandal. Mack was arrested in December 1997 for robbery of $722,000 from a South Central Los Angeles branch of the Bank of America. He was sentenced to fourteen years and three months in federal prison. Mack has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.

Early life

[edit]

As an athlete, David Mack ran track for Locke High School and was champion at the CIF California State Meet at 880 yards for two years in a row.[2]

He attended the University of Oregon where he ran track with his high school rival Jeff West. After West transferred to UCLA, Mack considered following suit, but was convinced to stay at UO by coach Bill Dellinger.[3] While in college, Mack dated world record holder in the 100m & 200m, Flo Jo.[4] In 1980, as a freshman in college, he finished sixth in the Olympic Trials.[5] Mack won three Pac-10 conference titles in the 800 and in his junior year, the NCAA Division I Championship in the 800 meters.

As a professional, Mack ran for Santa Monica Track Club. He qualified for the United States national team, running the 800 metres in the 1983 World Championships in Athletics but failed to advance to the final.[6] He was the rabbit in Sydney Maree's 1500 meter world record and one week later rabbited Steve Ovett to surpass that record.[7] A stress fracture in his shin caused him to fail to make it out of the heats at the 1984 USATF Championships. In 1985 he ran 1:43.35 seconds which at the time was the second fastest time ever by an American and still ranks 9th fastest.[8] He failed to advance from the heats in the 800m at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics.[9] Beset by fatigue from iron deficiency, his last professional race was in 1988.

Bank robbery

[edit]

In August 1997, Mack's lover, Errolyn Romero, became employed at a Bank of America branch near the University of Southern California campus. On November 6, 1997, Mack entered the bank and claimed he wanted to access his safe deposit box. Romero admitted him to the secure area, where he threw her to the floor and robbed the vault of $722,000.

In her capacity as branch assistant manager, Romero had ordered double the usual amount of cash to be on hand at the bank on the day of the robbery. After one month of investigation, Romero confessed to her role in the crime and implicated Mack as the mastermind.[10] He was arrested in December 1997. His two accomplices were never caught.[9][11]

Mack was sentenced to fourteen years and three months in prison and has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.[12] He was released on May 14, 2010.[13][14]

According to the Tupac documentary Assassination: Battle for Compton, citing official legal documents, a reliable jail informant by the name of Ken Boagni, who befriended Rafael Perez in prison, stated Perez claimed the money stolen in the bank robbery was intended to go to Harry Billups, also known as Amir Muhammed, who was friends with Mack, for allegedly carrying out the murder of late rapper Christopher Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls. Because Billups failed to also murder Sean Combs, the second intended target, Billups was not paid in full by his contractors, who are identified as Reggie Wright Jr. and David Kenner. Boagni claimed both Perez and Mack were involved in the murder of Wallace, but Billups was the shooter.[15][16]

Relation to the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.

[edit]
Main article: Rampart scandal

In April 2007, the estate of Christopher Wallace, a rapper who performed under the name The Notorious B.I.G., filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, which also named Mack, Pérez, and Nino Durden as defendants.

The lawsuit alleged that the officers conspired to murder Wallace, and that Pérez and Mack were present the night of the drive-by shooting which claimed his life on March 9, 1997.[17] In 2010, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit against the city and the officers.[18]

Depictions in media

[edit]

In the biography film City of Lies, David Mack is played by Shamier Anderson. The film features the 1997 bank robbery.[19]

Omar Gooding depicted Mack in the television series Unsolved.[20]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b IAAF. "IAAF: David Mack - Athlete Profile". Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "California State Meet Results - 1915 to present". Hank Lawson. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  3. ^ Meek, Austin. "Austin Meek: The improbable return of David Mack". The Register-Guard. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Volk, Joe (2021). Stable Boy: David Mack: A Story of Struggle, Success, Shadows, and Redemption. Joe Volk. ISBN 978-0578813097.
  5. ^ Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track and Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  6. ^ "2nd IAAF World Championships in Athletics Roma 28-Aug/06-Sep-87: 800 metres: Men: Heat". International Association of Athletics Federations. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  7. ^ Schroeder, George (2008). "Road From Eugene". The Register-Guard.
  8. ^ "U.S. All-Time List — Men". Track & Field News. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "The Murder of the Notorious B.I.G." Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. May 18, 2001. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  10. ^ "Rampart". Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  11. ^ "LAPD officer suspected in $722,000 bank robbery". Lodi News-Sentinel. Marty Weybret. December 20, 1997. p. 10. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  12. ^ "Rampart Scandal Timeline". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  13. ^ "Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  14. ^ Lawson, Edward. "Rampart". Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  15. ^ Bond, Richard (2017). Assassination: Battle for Compton (Video). Bonded Films.
  16. ^ Kooi, Brandon R. (2022). Seven highly effective police leaders : 1895-modern times. New York, NY. ISBN 978-0-429-27222-6. OCLC 1243906336.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ^ Amended Complaint, Estate of Christopher G.L. Wallace v. City of Los Angeles, et al., Civ. A. No. 2:07-cv-02956-JHN-RZ (C.D. Cal. May 27, 2008).
  18. ^ Estate of Christopher G.L. Wallace v. City of Los Angeles, et al., 2:07-cv-02956-FMC-RZx, slip op. at 4 (C.D. Cal. Apr 5, 2009) (Nguyen, J.).
  19. ^ Debruge, Peter (March 18, 2021). "'City of Lies' Review: Could Johnny Depp Have the Answer to the Notorious B.I.G.'s Murder?". Variety. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  20. ^ "'Unsolved' launches with gripping probe of Tupac, Biggie killings".

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=David_Mack_(police_officer)&oldid=1263653208"