Name:
Patrick Chappel

Age:
39

Occupation/Affiliation:
Operations Sergeant - Hollywood Division - Los Angeles Police Department

Physical Description:
Patrick is typical of most of the police officers that one would expect to see in Los Angeles. Standing just shy of 6'4 and weighing in at nearly 220 pounds, he is a big man who takes the time to defy gravity with iron every day. Shocking blonde hair matched with blue eyes earned him the nickname of "Commandant" when he worked the 77th Street Division. Patrick bears a number of scars including two bullet wounds hidden by his uniform, and a long thin scar crosses his right eye. This last scar is older than his time with the LAPD. Never one for running he is nonetheless built for it and is very dangerous over short distances. Now almost forty he leaves the foot chases to the younger officers.

History:
Born to white parents in Rhodesia, he was one of many young white youth who had a unique viewpoint on racism, being on the receiving end. His family, like so many others, became wary of Mugabe and his thugs during the waning years of the Free State. At 16 he joined the Rhodesian Army and at 18 became an elite Sellous Scout where he would serve alongside black and white Rhodesian alike.

He cut his teeth in the final and brutal stages of the Brush War, killing his first man in hand to hand combat, and nearly losing his life to a booby trap that left him with the scar across his face. When the end came and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe hefled the country with his family.

At 22 years old he arrived in the United States with a couple of hundred dollars in his pocket and nought but his farming and military experience at hand. He was determined to do anything but farm.

The glitz and glamour of Hollywood drew him to the city of Los Angeles where, on his first day, he encountered an LAPD recruiting sergeant who convinced the young Afrikana that policing was the life for him.

He attended the LAPD Training academy where he graduated in the top 10% of his class. He was assigned to 77th Street Division and hit the ground running as gang warfare tore the region apart.

His training officer was shot in the first three months on the job during a traffic stop. Patrick fired three rounds in reply and killed the driver of the vehicle with a shot through the back of the head as the vehicle sped away. That set the tone for his time in South Central and the next ten years he walked the beat.

The locals nick named him "Commandant", both a jab his similarities to certain photos and posters from 1930's Germany, and also his no nonsense attitude. He was respected and even feared by many who sought to circumnavigate the law for his hand to hand fighting and marksmanship skills. As a police officer he was a decent investigator though not one for paperwork. He became a field trainer in his own right and produced several brilliant young officers, including two of the first black officers to work the 77th Division. He was shot twice during his time in the 77th, once during a shootout after interrupting a drug deal, and the second time during a traffic stop. In both cases he returned fire killing his assailant.

Ten years in, he was promoted to Police Sergeant One and transferred to North Hollywood Division. It was here he met his wife, a fiery red headed named Jade, the daughter of Irish immigrants. The work in the North end was less gang violence and more break and enters, suburban murder, and domestic violence. Here he began to sharpen his skills as an investigator, becoming a Crisis Negotiator and sharp shooter for LAPD SWAT. His marriage to Jade lasted five glorious years until she abruptly died of cancer at the age of 25.

He threw himself into his work to help clear his head and keep stave off the depression that loomed with Jade's death. A parade of girlfriends came and went but none stayed on for more than a few months. He began to take an interest in the stock market and invested in several tech companies, as well as the "3 B's", bullets, booze, and bandages. By the beginning of 1997 his investments were paying off and he was, privately, well on his way to making his first million dollars. Recently he invested in Apple Inc. following the return of Steve Jobs to the company.

On February 28, 1997, while out for lunch with a colleague, the shootout that would make North Hollywood famous began. He responded at once, attending Archwood Street, not knowing that Larry Phillips was headed directly toward him.

At 09:50 hours, he engaged Phillips in a gunfight. He succeeded in hitting Phillips in the right hand, causing him to drop the handgun. Phillips managed to retrieve the weapon and shoot himself in the lower jaw just as Patricks final round severed his spine.

Lauded for his calmness during the altercation, Patrick was commended for his actions by the LAPD and promoted to Police Sergeant Two in the Hollywood Division. He was assigned to a newly created position of Operations NCO, a job that would have him operating as a solo unit helping out on various watches and providing experience and supervision to patrol officers.

As the Spring rolls around he has relocated to a small but luxurious townhouse and is preparing himself for the first day in his new roll.