Sixty-three years ago today, on a dark night in Hollywood, two young LAPD officers—Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger—were on routine patrol when fate took a cruel turn. Gregory Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith, career criminals with nothing to lose, took them hostage at gunpoint.
They drove their captives north, far from the city lights, deep into the isolation of a barren onion field near Bakersfield. Then, without mercy, Powell executed Officer Campbell in cold blood. Hettinger, in a desperate bid for survival, fled into the darkness. He lived—but in many ways, his nightmare had only begun.
Haunted by survivor’s guilt, Hettinger never truly recovered. Instead of being supported by his department, he was shamed—LAPD brass saw his escape as an act of cowardice, eroding his spirit even further. The trauma followed him for the rest of his days, a grim testament to the weight of duty and the scars it can leave behind.
Justice, too, took a winding road. Powell and Smith were sentenced to death, but the Supreme Court’s 1972 Furman v. Georgia ruling spared them, commuting their sentences to life in prison. In a bitter twist, Jimmy Lee Smith was eventually paroled, a decision that defied both logic and morality. But fate dealt Powell a different hand—he died behind bars, never again tasting freedom.
I was fortunate to meet James Woods, who gave a chilling portrayal of Gregory Powell in the 1979 film The Onion Field, and John Savage, who brought Karl Hettinger’s torment to life. I also had the honor of meeting the film’s writer, the legendary Joseph Wambaugh, at UCLA. His book and film captured the harrowing reality of that night—haunting, unforgettable, and a stark reminder of the thin line between order and chaos.
Today, we remember Ian Campbell, a young officer whose life was stolen far too soon. We remember Karl Hettinger, a man who survived but never truly lived again. And we remember the cruel reality that justice is not always swift, nor fair—but it is relentless.
