Bernardine King became a Beverly Hills Air Patrol officer in the late 1920s at a time when women weren’t allowed to be police officers on the ground. But in the air, women ruled: King, Elizabeth McQueen, and one lone male air cop, Paul Whittier, comprised the entire flying squadron that literally patrolled the skies above Beverly Hills. Officer Larry Cooper took over for Whittier, that’s Cooper in the photo. The story of why these aerial experts were needed is detailed on p. 26 of our book,  where you can also read about the stunning headline: “Nude as Plane Crashes.”  Seems Bernardine liked to sunbathe on her plane’s wings. Scandalous!

*These photos were sent to us by eagle eye crime historian Mike Fratantoni. Thanks for the find!

http://www.amazon.com/Beverly-Hills-Confidential-Century-Scandals/dp/188331870X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365531158&sr=8-1&keywords=beverly+hills+confidential