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B. H. La Forest
I am B.H. La Forest, author of
Shadow Partners
A Law Enforcement Story
&
In the Red Dragon's Shadow
- Come the Jackals
Bernard H. (Bernie) La Forest grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He attende...view moreI am B.H. La Forest, author of
Shadow Partners
A Law Enforcement Story
&
In the Red Dragon's Shadow
- Come the Jackals
Bernard H. (Bernie) La Forest grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He attended St. Ambrose High School. In 1959, he joined the U.S. Navy, and served aboard Sixth Fleet Oilers in the Mediterranean. The USS Mississinewa AO 144 was his last assignment.
He married Brenda Louria in 1962, and joined the Detroit Police Department (DPD). As a police officer, he served at the 12th and 5th Precincts. In 1965, he was offered a position in the newly formed Tactical Mobile Unit (TMU). During his tenure with DPD, he was awarded more than twenty citations and commendations.
In 1970, after a short stint with the Sterling Heights PD, Bernard was sworn in as a special investigator with the Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Division of the IRS. He was assigned to Charleston, West Virginia where moonshine violations were rapidly being surpassed by firearms' and explosive's crimes.
Bernard volunteered in 1971 to a request for additional special agents needed in Los Angeles California. When he arrived, he was immediately assigned to ATF's new Bomb Squad investigation team. By the time Bernard and Brenda were transferred to Phoenix, in 1973, they had five children. Those "kids" would eventually bring fourteen grandchildren into the La Forest Clan.
In 1975, he was asked to take over the Los Angeles Field Office. As was his practice in Phoenix, the Los Angeles office concentrated on complex investigations. Case quality, complexity of investigations and the impact on crime were high. Complicated conspiracies usually breed cooperative defendants! The extra . . . often resource intensive, efforts to tie in as many conspirators as possible, almost always translates in greater defendant numbers. Unfortunately, "numbers" is too often the only measure bureaucrats emphasize or require.
Bernard and the family were transferred from ATF HQ in Washington, D.C. in 1978. His new assignment was to be the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Division. During the next twenty years he served as the Special Agent in Charge in New Orleans, Kansas City, Detroit (twice), Phoenix, and Los Angeles. As a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), he gained exposure to other branches of government: Congress, CIA, U.S. Customs, IRS, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals, INS, Border Patrol and the Departments of Treasury, State, and Justice.
After retirement in 1998, Mr. La Forest was recruited as a contractor by ATF from 2001 - 2008. He streamlined application processes for the Brady Act, a statute that had initially pulled agents away from important case initiation and field operations. Later, he developed detailed methods for scrupulous examination and evaluation of all crime gun traces in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Thousands of referrals were forwarded to enforcement agencies in America and foreign countries. The Intel leads dealt with falsified gun purchases, domestic and international trafficking in guns and narcotics, terrorism and other violent crimes.
In 2009, Bernard decided to put down on paper stories about law enforcement agencies contributing their resources and expertise to wage war on crime. While many authors choose to highlight personal conflict in stories about "white hats and black hats," Bernard's first two books stress examples on how most joint operations usually work, with a minimum amount of dissension. However, there is always room for spirited competitiveness. Those in the "game" will understand what I mean!
A personal note: During my career as a law enforcement professional, I had the honor of working many fine people—those who wore their badge proudly after swearing the oath, "To Protect and Serve." Many of those officers, deputies and agents, from many departments and agencies have passed on. They are not forgotten by me, nor by those of us who remain to greet the new blood. The Job—it's what you make of it! Nurtured and allowed to positively influence your efforts, it will make you a better person by the end of your career.view less