Karl Francis Hettinger
Karl Francis Hettinger (October 29, 1934 - May 4, 1994) was an American police officer of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1958 to 1963. Hettinger formerly served for the United States Marine Corps from 1952 to 1958 and served in the Korean War and Vietnam War. He was known for surviving the "Onion Field" incident, in which he and his partner, Officer Ian Campbell, were kidnapped on the night of March 9, 1963, by criminals Gregory Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith and taken to an onion field near Bakersfield, California where Officer Campbell was fatally shot. Hettinger's story is depicted in Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 nonfiction book, The Onion Field. The book was adapted into a 1979 feature film of the same name in which Hettinger was portrayed by John Savage. Biography Hettinger was born in Los Angeles, California, to Francis and Elsie (Eberley) Hettinger. He had two sisters, Miriam and Eunice. He was raised in Los Angeles. He was married to Helen Beth Davis in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 1, 1962; they had three children: Laurie, Kurt, and Christine. On the night of March 9, 1963, Hettinger and his partner, Ian Campbell, pulled over a vehicle driven by Powell and Smith. After both men got out of the vehicle, Powell disarmed Campbell and pointed a gun at his back. Smith and Powell held the officers hostage, and all four of them returned to the vehicle. Campbell was then forced to drive the four of them to an onion field near Bakersfield. When they arrived, the officers were ordered to step out into the field. Powell asked Campbell if he had ever heard of the Lindbergh Law. When Campbell replied, "Yes," Powell shot him. The killing occurred primarily because Powell assumed that the kidnapping of the officers alone already constituted a capital crime under the Lindbergh Law. However, Powell's interpretation was incorrect. Under the Lindbergh Law at that time, kidnapping became a capital crime only if victims were harmed or if a ransom was demanded. Today, kidnapping in California is punishable by life imprisonment, either with or without the possibility of parole, depending on the circumstances. Hettinger managed to escape to a farmhouse, where he called for help. Powell was arrested hours later, whereas Smith was arrested the next day. According to Pierce Brooks, the officer who investigated the crime, Hettinger suffered from survivor's guilt because of Campbell's death, describing it as a "tremendous guilt complex." In addition, Hettinger was forced to visit squad rooms and publicly admit blame for his lack of courage at the onion field. His experience inspired the controversial "Hettinger Memorandum," whereby officers were admonished never to give up their weapons. Depressed and finding it difficult to function, Hettinger was transferred to a less stressful job as a driver for the police chief. But after he began shoplifting, Hettinger was forced to resign from the police department. Joseph Wambaugh said of Hettinger after writing both the book and the film about the "Onion Field" incident,