"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God"
-Matthew 5:9
Nobody can deny that the life of a police officer is a very dangerous one. Split-second decisions made on the field by officers can mean the difference between life and death, both for the officer and, in many cases, the suspect. The danger of the job, and the sacrifice officers are willing to make to ensure public safety, have created a firm culture of respect among the public for law enforcement.
But sometimes, police officers take advantage of their power and use it for evil means. Sometimes, they believe that, because of their status, they are above the law. And, knowing that with their badge comes not just great power but also great respect, some officers go to great lengths to abuse their power, confident that the public will never convict them of a crime.
In 1982, one of these policemen committed one of the most heinous crimes in California history. He extorted a woman for sex, and then killed her to keep her silent.
It didn't take long for the officer to be caught, but it would ultimately take years of dogged work by state and federal authorities to convict him.
The Predator
In 1982, 23-year-old Robin Lynn Bishop was a pretty young college student living in Las Vegas, Nevada. A native of Cedar City, Utah, Robin was an optimistic young woman with a special talent for music and theater. Acting became her passion in life from an early age.
Robin had dreams of stardom, and hoped to one day become a famous actress.
 |
| Robin Bishop |
On January 11th, 1982, Robin was visiting a friend in Los Angeles, California, and discussed her acting aspirations with him. The friend told Robin that, if she was serious about acting, she would have to move to Los Angeles.
In LA, she'd be in the heart of the Hollywood spotlight. Undoubtedly, with her good looks and her many talents, Robin would quickly find work. Movie directors, her friend said, wouldn't be able to turn her down when they saw how skilled she was at acting.
Excited at the opportunities Los Angeles presented, Robin agreed to move to California. She was looking forward to starting her new life.
That afternoon, Robin Bishop said goodbye to her friend and began the 3-hour-drive back to her home in Las Vegas, Nevada, to pack up and prepare to move to Los Angeles.
In the small town of Barstow, California, Robin stopped her car at a restaurant to get dinner before beginning the long journey home. After picking up a sandwich, Robin called her mother and excitedly told her the news. She was ecstatic and could hardly contain herself as she beamed about what the future held for her. At around 8:00 PM, Robin finished dinner and left the restaurant to return to her car.
But, as Robin left the restaurant, she crossed the gaze of an evil predator. And, once this predator laid his eyes on the pretty young woman, all of Robin's great hopes and aspirations instantly became doomed.
The predator was not a typical kind of criminal. In fact, this criminal was one of the most respected residents of Barstow, California. He was a highly respected police officer named George Gwaltney.
 |
| George Gwaltney |
Gwaltney served as a role model for rookie cops, who affectionately called him "Big Mike", and his acts of kindness to neighborhood children earned him the adoration of local parents. Gwaltney had, in fact, previously been named "Officer of the Year", and he was happily married with five children.
 |
| George Gwaltney gives a presentation on bicycle safety to a group of Barstow Girl Scouts in 1978. A revered and beloved officer of the California Highway Patrol, few people knew that Gwaltney led a secret, criminal double life. |
But Gwaltney harbored a dark secret. The highly respected policeman was, beneath his badge, a perverse sexual predator with a disturbing pattern of behavior.
As a police officer, Gwaltney secretly had a habit of pulling over pretty young women he saw on the highway, ostensibly for speeding. He would then present the women with a choice: pay an exorbitant amount of money for a fine (and risk loss of license), or have sex with him and get out of a ticket.
At least eleven previous women had reluctantly opted to have sex with Gwaltney in order to save their money and license. On one occasion, Gwaltney used his nightclub to savagely beat one of the women he pulled over, putting her into a coma and nearly killing her. Intimidated by Gwaltney's status as a cop, the woman never pressed charges.
Because he was so highly respected in Barstow, Gwaltney knew that the women would never publicly accuse him of his sexual improprieties. It would be, after all, their word against his.
Gwaltney suspected that Robin Bishop, who was traveling alone, would likewise give in to his demands.
Gwaltney took note of the make and model of Robin's car, a light-brown Datsun B-210. Noticing it had Nevada plates, Gwaltney concluded that Robin Bishop was heading for Interstate 15, which would take her back home across the state line.
Rather than tail the young woman, Gwaltney decided to catch up with her on the interstate later. For now, he needed to secure a solid alibi in case Robin tried to report him after he had his way with her.
Resuming his normal patrol, Gwaltney noticed a neighborhood boy, 10-year-old Preston Olsen, walking home from an outing with friends. Gwaltney knew Preston Olsen well. He often gave the young boy a ride home in his patrol car and was good friends with his parents.
Pulling alongside him, Gwaltney greeted the young boy. "Hey there, Preston!", he smiled. "You want a ride home?"
"Sure!", the child beamed. He got into the patrol car with Gwaltney and the two began heading to Preston's home a few blocks away. Unbeknownst to the young boy, Gwaltney had not picked him up simply as an act of kindness; rather, the crooked cop had calculated that the boy could be used as a convenient alibi if Robin ever tried to accuse him of sexual misconduct.
After dropping Preston off at his home and saying hello to the boy's parents, Gwaltney returned to Interstate 15. The highway was almost entirely deserted at this time of night, and Gwaltney soon caught up with Robin Bishop as she drove through the darkness. The officer checked to make sure no one else was in sight, and then he turned on his lights and siren, signaling for Robin to pull over. The young woman pulled her vehicle to the side of the road and stopped in front of Gwaltney's patrol car.
Gwaltney exited his vehicle and approached Robin's car with his flashlight in hand. Nobody knows exactly what happened next, but, based on the circumstances, Gwaltney apparently asked Robin for her driver's license. Later, it would be found on the top of her purse, indicating she had shown it to someone.
Robin undoubtedly would have been extremely agitated. She had received a string of traffic tickets over the past few years. She had, in fact, just finished a year of probation for one traffic violation, and was warned that another ticket could result in the loss of her license. Knowing that a car would be essential for an aspiring actress, Robin would have undoubtedly been willing to do almost anything to avoid another ticket.
After looking at her license, Gwaltney ordered Robin out of the car. Although she was probably confused, she dutifully obeyed, leaving the keys in the ignition.
Gwaltney led Robin Bishop back to his patrol car, where he placed her under arrest, handcuffed the young woman, and placed her in the back seat of the patrol car. As Gwaltney returned to Robin's vehicle to get her purse, a passing motorist spotted him walking away from his patrol car.
Leaving Robin's car abandoned on Interstate 15, Gwaltney drove off with his captive in tow.
But, instead of taking Robin to the police station, Gwaltney drove to a small, isolated access road a few miles down the interstate. It was an access road he often visited while on break, so he knew the area well.
There, on that access road, Gwaltney got into the back seat of his car and raped Robin Bishop.
Murder on the Interstate
When Gwaltney was done having his way with the young woman, he began the cover-up process of the crime he'd just committed.
Gwaltney keyed his police radio. "I'd like to report a 10-29 on the Interstate", Gwaltney radioed, using the police code for a wants and warrants check on an abandoned vehicle (in this case Robin's car). Knowing he'd been spotted by a passing driver while pulling Robin over, Gwaltney knew he'd have to come up with some excuse as to why he was seen on the interstate if Robin decided to tell on him.
After radioing in the abandoned car, Gwaltney drove Robin Bishop down the access road to a point where she could walk back to her car. Now that he'd gotten the sex he was after, Gwaltney intended to let Robin go. He removed the handcuffs and let her out of the vehicle.
On the side of the road, Robin sat down on the ground to put on her boots. At that moment, something happened. Nobody knows exactly what occurred, but it is very likely that Robin threatened Gwaltney with exposure. Her brother was a prosecutor in Nevada, and Robin had likely taken note of the officer's name tag while he was raping her.
Gwaltney stood next to his patrol car, watching Robin put on her boots. At this point, he likely wasn't worried about her threats of exposure. It would, after all, be the word of a young woman against the impeccable reputation of one of the most highly respected patrol officers in the state of California.
But, as Gwaltney listened to Robin's threats, a deputy sheriff's car drove by the scene. As he passed by Gwaltney, the officer shined a flashlight at him - a typical signal for recognition among police officers.
Suddenly, Gwaltney began to panic. Had the officer recognized him? Now, Robin's threats carried more weight. If Robin decided to expose Gwaltney, the passing officer could corroborate her story. Gwaltney had no way of knowing if he'd been recognized, and, if he was exposed, he had no way of explaining what he was doing on the access road.
For Gwaltney, there was now only one way to ensure his and Robin's secret would never become public. She would have to be silenced forever.
As Robin sat on the ground, Gwaltney reached into his holster and drew his service weapon, a Smith and Wesson Model 19 revolver. The crooked cop stood back and took aim at the back of Robin's head.
Gwaltney fired a single .357 round. The bullet tore through Robin Bishop's brain and lodged in her upper jawbone, killing the 23-year-old aspiring actress instantly.
Gwaltney's secret had just become much darker. He was no longer just a crooked cop and a sexual predator. Now, George Gwaltney - the officer so highly respected for keeping Barstow safe from murderers and criminals - was himself a cold-blooded killer.
Lies
Mere minutes after the heinous killing, officers around Barstow heard an audibly upset and frantic Gwaltney speak into his police radio. "I've got a 10-54 off the interstate, near Field Road", Gwaltney radioed, using the police code for a dead body. "Looks like a possible suicide."
The dispatcher acknowledged Gwaltney's report and ordered several units to respond to the scene.
Gwaltney was now setting into motion the first phase of an elaborate cover-up of his crime, but there was one piece of evidence that could destroy his version of events: the fatal bullet that killed Robin Bishop. While waiting for his fellow officers to arrive, Gwaltney crouched next to Robin's corpse and searched under her head for the bullet, but he found no exit wound. The round was still lodged in her skull.
 |
| Robin Bishop lies dead on the side of the access road near Interstate 15 |
By the time the other officers arrived at the crime scene, it had begun to rain, and Gwaltney had composed himself and was back to his usual calm, collected demeanor.
He calmly recounted to his colleagues how he had found the body of a young woman on the side of the road. He had checked her pulse, he said, and then searched through her purse for her identification before radioing in a possible suicide.
But detectives noticed several major inconsistencies with Gwaltney's story. Although he had radioed in a possible suicide, officers noticed that Robin Bishop had been shot in the back of the head - very unusual for a suicide - and there was no weapon lying nearby. Furthermore, evidence showed the body had been moved after death - four inches from her head was a stream of blood.
The detectives knew that this was no suicide. This was a murder through and through.
Examining the ground, the detectives were dismayed to see that the rainfall had softened the ground, and Gwaltney's footprints had contaminated the area, destroying possible forensic evidence.
The officers scolded Gwaltney for ruining the crime scene. This was uncharacteristically careless behavior for such an experienced cop.
Examining Robin's body, officers made another startling discovery. On Robin's wrists were bruise marks - marks identical to those made by police handcuffs.
Furthermore, officers discovered that not only did Robin's purse still contain her wallet and money, but Robin's driver's license was on top of the contents of her purse, as if she had taken it out to show someone and then thrown it back in.
A short distance away from the access road, another police officer was sent to examine the abandoned car Gwaltney had reported. Because Robin's body was found a short distance from the car, the police suspected a connection between the two.
Examining the abandoned car, the officer could find no signs of damage or breakdowns. The vehicle's gear had been set into park, the gas tank was half full, and the keys were still in the ignition. It appeared as if someone had pulled the car over and then, for whatever reason, abandoned it.
Combined with the evidence found on Robin's body and in her purse, this discovery hinted at the involvement of a police officer, or an imposter posing as one. To detectives, it appeared that Robin had been pulled over in a vehicle stop and handcuffed shortly before she was killed.
But, despite the evidence, and despite Gwaltney's inconsistent recounting of the events, the thought that he could have committed the murder never crossed the minds of his fellow officers.
That possibility was not even considered. All of the officers who were on scene were close friends of Gwaltney. They did not so much as suspect that he had anything to do with the crime.
The Cover Up
After Gwaltney went home that night, he began the elaborate cover-up of his terrible crime.
He sent his uniform over to the local cleaners to be washed, and took his pistol holster to a repair shop to be re-dyed and re-stitched.
Gwaltney told the cleaner that he had an upcoming inspection to prepare for, but, unbeknownst to the cleaner, Gwaltney's real motive was to wash away any possible blood spatter or other forensic evidence that could tie him to the murder of Robin Bishop.
Knowing that the coroner would eventually discover the fatal bullet lodged in Robin's head, and knowing that the barrel of his weapon left identifiable marks on the bullet, Gwaltney used tools in his garage to pry off the barrel from his service revolver. He dismantled the gun and disposed of several pieces, but, for some unknown reason, kept the frame of the revolver in his truck.
On the morning of January 12th, Gwaltney went to a local gun store to buy a replacement barrel for his weapon. If Gwaltney replaced the barrel of his revolver, it would fool the ballistics test and would exonerate him. But, to the officer's great dismay, the barrel was not in stock. It would have to be ordered and shipped.
That same day, Robin Bishop's body was taken to the San Bernardino County Coroner, where an autopsy was performed as per protocol.
 |
| The fatal .357 Magnum round removed from Robin Bishop's skull. |
Although the caliber of the bullet matched those issued to California Highway Patrol officers, the brand of the bullet did not. The fatal bullet was a Smith and Wesson .357, while the CHP only issued Remington .357s to their officers.
Furthermore, the coroner determined that Robin had had sex less than 24 hours before she was killed. Semen was found both in Robin's body and on her jeans. But, oddly, it did not appear that she had been forcibly raped. She showed no signs of having put up a struggle with her attacker.
On Robin's wrists, the coroner measured the bruise marks and confirmed that they were made by the type of handcuffs issued to CHP officers. Clearly, Robin's murder was the work of either a police officer or someone pretending to be one.
 |
| A medical examiner measures the bruise marks on Robin Bishop's wrists. They were later determined to have been made by police handcuffs, further confirming the involvement of a police officer. |
The coroner ruled Robin Bishop's death as a homicide and turned the case over to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Because of the circumstances, the CHP and San Bernardino Sheriff's Office held a meeting which all officers were required to attend. At the conference, the sheriff announced that the fatal bullet had been recovered from Robin's body, and ordered all officers on duty during the night of January 11th, 1982, to hand in their service revolvers so that a ballistics test could eliminate them as suspects.
When Gwaltney learned the fatal bullet had been recovered, he again began to panic. He had hoped the autopsy would take more time, and that his replacement barrel would have arrived by the time the bullet was found, but now he was again in a pickle. Obviously, he knew he couldn't hand in his gun. He would have to continue stalling for time.
By the early evening, as ordered, every officer on duty that night had handed in their service weapons to investigators for ballistics testing.
Every officer, that is, except for George Gwaltney.
That night, a pair of detectives drove to Gwaltney's home to collect his gun. As before, they didn't suspect that Gwaltney had anything to do with the murder; they only thought he had simply forgotten to turn in his weapon.
Gwaltney and his wife greeted his colleagues warmly. Although he was undoubtedly nervous, Gwaltney didn't show it. He remained his usual calm and composed self, with the officers totally none the wiser to his internal panic.
The officers asked Gwaltney for his service revolver, and he went into his bedroom to get it.
A few moments later, Gwaltney walked over to the detectives, carrying his personal revolver instead of his service weapon. The detectives weren't fooled. This gun was a .38 Detective Special, not a .357 Model 19.
"George", said one detective, "this isn't your service revolver. That's what we need."
"Oh, sorry", Gwaltney replied nervously. He returned to his room to get the right gun, but he came back to the detectives empty handed.
"You guys aren't gonna believe this, but it's gone", Gwaltney said. "My gun's been stolen".
"Stolen? What do you mean it's stolen?", replied one detective, suspicious.
"Yeah, it's gone", replied Gwaltney. "My house must have been burglarized. There've been some break-ins in the neighborhood lately."
The story sounded dubious to the detectives, but they didn't suspect any wrongdoing on Gwaltney's part. However, Gwaltney did not seem overly concerned about the fact his gun was missing. He wasn't reacting the way someone in his position normally would.
The detectives asked Gwaltney to accompany them back to the police station for further questioning. They still didn't believe he had anything to do with the killing of Robin Bishop, but they wanted to clear things up.
At the station, Gwaltney gave his consent for the detectives to search his locker for the missing gun. Maybe he had forgotten it there earlier in the day. It would be a careless mistake uncharacteristic of Gwaltney, but it would explain why he couldn't find the weapon.
But when the detectives searched Gwaltney's locker, they found no trace of the gun there either. Maybe Gwaltney was right. Maybe his gun had, in fact, been stolen as he claimed.
But Gwaltney's odd behavior set off alarm bells for the detectives. They still didn't think he was the killer, but they were starting to have their suspicions that something was off, or that Gwaltney wasn't telling them the whole truth.
The detectives asked Gwaltney to sit down for questioning. He was read his constitutional rights and agreed to give a tape-recorded interview.
Gwaltney told detectives that he had been on his usual patrol on the night of January 11th, 1982. Gwaltney reiterated that, after taking a dinner break while on his night shift, he had given the neighborhood boy, Preston Olsen, a ride home in his patrol car at around 8:40 PM.
By 8:50 PM, Gwaltney said, he had returned to patrolling Interstate 15. At about 9:15 PM, he found an abandoned car on the side of the road. He called in a wants-and-warrants check on the vehicle and drove around the surrounding area for more clues.
At about 9:24 PM, as he passed by the access road, Gwaltney said he saw what he thought was a dead coyote, and when he got out of his car to take a closer look he found a young woman's body on the side of the road. Gwaltney checked for a pulse, he said, and then looked through her purse for identification.
After the interview, Gwaltney insisted to detectives that he be given a polygraph test to prove he was telling the truth. On January 13th, the detectives agreed, and arranged for a lie-detector test to be administered. Gwaltney passed the test with flying colors, never wavering from his original version of events. The examiner found no signs of deception in the answers he was giving.
For Gwaltney, things were looking up. He had successfully fooled the polygraph test and had stalled the officers from finding any hard evidence against him. In just a few days, the new barrel for his gun would arrive, and he would be off the hook for good.
But, that same day, Gwaltney made a critical mistake. As he was being transferred to another station for further questioning, Gwaltney gave his consent for police to search his house, and what the police found in his house was damning.
Busted
While Gwaltney was being questioned at another police station that day, a team of detectives and evidence collectors were searching his home in Barstow, California. The detectives investigated Gwaltney's claim that his house had been burglarized. While there had, in fact, been a series of break-ins near Gwaltney's neighborhood, police could find no signs of forced entry in Gwaltney's house. All of the locks were intact and none of the jewelry, money, or other valuables were missing.
While searching Gwaltney's truck, the detectives made a damning discovery. Inside a bag on the floor of the pickup truck, homicide investigators found the badly-damaged frame of a .357-caliber Smith and Wesson Model 19 revolver. Gwaltney had probably intended to dispose of the damaged frame, but had apparently forgotten about it in his truck.
The gun was missing its grip, cylinder, and - most importantly - its barrel. The frame's serial number was intact, and a background check revealed that it had been sold to the California Highway Patrol, who had issued it as a service weapon to George Michael Gwaltney.
 | ||
| The badly-damaged frame of Gwaltney's service revolver was found in his truck by homicide detectives. The weapon's barrel, which could have been used for a ballistics comparison, had been forcibly removed and was never found. |
This discovery made it impossible for the detectives to deny the obvious. Gwaltney had clearly lied about his gun having been stolen, and, to the detectives, there was only one reason the barrel of the weapon had been removed - to prevent it from being tied to the bullet that killed Robin Bishop.
The cover-up had failed. Despite their initial disbelief at the conclusion they had reached, the detectives could not ignore the evidence that implicated their prime suspect.
George Michael Gwaltney was arrested on January 14th, 1982, and held on charges of rape and first-degree murder.
When news of Gwaltney's arrest broke, it left the entire community of Barstow in shock and disbelief. Gwaltney was so highly respected and beloved by the community. He was a dedicated cop and a model to young recruits. The idea that he could have been involved in such a horrible crime was, for most residents, totally incomprehensible.
The CHP also found itself devastated by the news. Gwaltney's colleagues and friends simply could not come to grips with the fact that such a beloved fellow officer could have done such a terrible thing. Many officers burst into tears upon hearing the news. Others simply refused to believe that he was guilty, insisting that there had to be some mistake or misunderstanding.
Even the investigators found it hard to believe that a dedicated, respected cop like Gwaltney could be such a cold-blooded murderer.
Most devastated was Gwaltney's wife, Karen. When she was informed of her husband's arrest, Karen insisted to detectives that Gwaltney was incapable of committing murder. He had too much of a good heart, she said, to ever commit such a terrible crime. He was a faithful, devoted husband, and a loving father to their five children.
The Evidence Thickens
The morning after his arrest, George Michael Gwaltney appeared in San Bernardino Municipal Court and was formally charged with the first-degree murder of Robin Bishop.
Gwaltney insisted that there had to be some mistake, and he appeared to express shock at his arrest. But the judge found sufficient evidence for the matter to go to trial. He ordered Gwaltney to be held on $100,000 bail, and scheduled a preliminary hearing for February 9th, 1982.
 |
| George Gwaltney listens as he is charged with first-degree murder in San Bernardino Municipal Court |
While Gwaltney sat in jail awaiting trial, detectives returned to his home with a search warrant.
In Gwaltney's garage, investigators found numerous tools with fresh metal shavings on them - indicating they may have been used by Gwaltney to dismantle his gun.
Comparing the tools to marks on the frame of Gwaltney's gun, investigators found that the marks and tools were reasonably consistent with each other, but they could not say with certainty that there was a positive match. Either way, this was still incriminating evidence Even though Gwaltney later claimed his damaged gun frame had been "planted" in his garage, he could not explain how his own tools had been used to dismantle it.
Searching through Gwaltney's bedroom, the investigators found several boxes of ammunition in his room. Most were the standard Remington .357 ammunition, but others were discovered to be Smith and Wesson .357 rounds - the same brand of the bullet that had killed Robin Bishop.
Officers also decided to search Gwaltney's patrol car to see if there was any evidence they could collect from inside it. Police were disappointed to discover that Gwaltney had vacuumed the car before it was searched. Any fiber evidence that could have definitively put Bishop in the patrol car was gone.
 |
| Gwaltney's patrol car and police jacket |
However, investigators did discover several semen stains on the back seat of Gwaltney's patrol car, indicating that some sort of sexual activity had, in fact, taken place there. Though the technology needed for DNA testing did not exist in 1982, blood-typing technology did. A test concluded that the blood type of the semen found in the car matched both the blood type of the semen found in Robin's jeans and the blood type of Gwaltney's semen.
But the most incriminating piece of evidence was a report filed by Deputy Sheriff Roger Kaufman. Kaufman reported that he had driven by the exact crime scene on the night of January 11th, at around the time of the murder. Kaufman reported that he had been driving to another county when he saw a patrol car sitting on the small access road off the highway. He had shined his flashlight at the vehicle and glimpsed a highway patrol officer standing next to it.
Although Kaufman could not positively identify Gwaltney as the officer he had seen, his report was incredibly damning. Only one other officer was known to be near the access road at the time of the murder, and that officer was George Gwaltney.
While Gwaltney awaited trial, the CHP conducted its own internal investigation. In June, 1982, they concluded that Gwaltney had committed actions unbecoming of an officer, and Gwaltney was fired from the California Highway Patrol.
Although Gwaltney had been relieved of his badge, many of his friends and family stood firmly by his side. They simply refused to accept that he had committed such a terrible crime.
But, for the investigators, the evidence was impossible to ignore. They were absolutely convinced that Gwaltney was guilty.
Now, they intended to prove it.
The Trial
On October 4th, 1982, a little less than nine months after the death of Robin Bishop, George Gwaltney went on trial for murder in San Bernardino Municipal Court. The prosecution, led by noted attorney Betty Kennedy, was convinced that their case was airtight. Gwaltney's lies, coupled with the damning forensic and circumstantial evidence, all painted an incriminating picture of the crooked cop.
But Gwaltney was not intimidated. Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, he steadfastly maintained his innocence.
In his opening statement, Gwaltney's attorney, George Porter, declared that his client was the victim of a frame-up. Someone, he said, had indeed stopped, raped, and murdered Robin Bishop, but that person was not George Gwaltney.
George Gwaltney, said Porter, was a dedicated and respected cop, a family man who was beloved by his community. It was simply not possible, Porter said, that such an honorable man could have committed such a terrible crime. Other suspects had to be considered.
The real perpetrator, Porter argued, was probably a fellow officer of Gwaltney. Maybe this officer had been passed up for a promotion. Maybe he saw Gwaltney as a threat to him. Whatever the reason, Porter said, it was highly likely that a rogue CHP officer had committed the crime and then set it up to frame Gwaltney.
 |
| George Gwaltney listens as a fellow CHP officer testifies during his 1982 murder trial |
The prosecution presented damning evidence against Gwaltney. They had over fifty witnesses and thirty different forensic experts on their side.
In addition to the forensic evidence involving the bullet, the tools, and the semen, the prosecution brought forth several women who testified that Gwaltney had stopped them for speeding and extorted them for sex in exchange for getting out of a ticket.
Prosecutor Betty Kennedy focused the majority of her case on the gun frame found in Gwaltney's garage. How could Gwaltney explain that? How could he explain why he lied to police about having his gun stolen? How could he explain it being in his truck, when he had previously claimed he didn't have it? How could he explain the fact that it was dismantled, with the barrel removed?
There was, the prosecutor told the jury, only one explanation: Gwaltney had been trying to destroy the evidence linking him to Robin Bishop's murder.
"George Gwaltney made sure we would never be able to do any ballistics on this gun", Kennedy said, "and if he's acquitted it would have been the best bet he made in his life, and he will have beat the system."
The prosecution constructed what they thought was an airtight timeline for the murder. They contended that Gwaltney had dropped off Preston Olsen at his house at 8:40 PM and had returned to the interstate at 8:50. He had pulled over Robin Bishop at about 9:00 PM, took her to the access road, raped her, and then shot her at around 9:24 PM.
But Gwaltney's defense team used that timeline itself to cast doubt on the evidence. If the timeline was correct, they said, then it meant that Gwaltney would have had barely 20 minutes to pull Robin Bishop over, take her to the access road, rape her, shoot her, and then report the death. How could he have possibly done all of that in twenty minutes?
Gwaltney's attorneys sought to sow seeds of doubt among the jurors. No matter what the evidence was, they questioned its authenticity. The semen evidence, they said, only placed the killer in the same blood type as Gwaltney, and was not unique enough to specifically implicate him.
Furthermore, the defense said, tool mark evidence was itself a flawed science, and it, too, couldn't definitively implicate Gwaltney as the culprit.
 |
| Police found these tools in Gwaltney's garage. Investigators believed they were used by Gwaltney to dismantle his service weapon, but the defense easily challenged that evidence in court. |
Gwaltney himself testified on his own behalf. When asked about his actions on the night of Robin Bishop's murder, he never wavered from his previous accounts. He calmly described to the jury how he had found Robin's body lying on the side of the road.
"Finding the young lady was unexpected", Gwaltney testified. "She was young and it reminded me of my own daughter."
Gwaltney had an answer for every question the prosecution threw at him. He repeated his attorney's assertions; he had been a dedicated, honorable police officer, and was being framed for a crime he didn't commit.
In his closing arguments, George Porter tried to discredit the prosecution's most damning piece of evidence: the dismantled gun frame found in Gwaltney's truck. That piece of evidence, said Porter, was only further proof of a frame-up. Someone had obviously planted the gun, said Porter, to implicate Gwaltney and deflect attention away from the real killer.
As outlandish as this argument was, it worked. In the end, despite the overwhelming forensic and circumstantial evidence against George Gwaltney, the jury was not convinced of his guilt.
On December 10th, 1982, after four days of constant deliberation, the jury reached a deadlock. The vote was 8-4 in favor of total acquittal, and the judge declared a mistrial. It was a major victory for Gwaltney, and a stunning blow to both the prosecution and Robin Bishop's family.
Although many jurors later recalled that they did, in fact, believe that it was very likely that Gwaltney was guilty, they simply didn't believe that a police officer with such impeccable credentials could have committed such a terrible crime. They just couldn't convict a cop.
 |
| George Gwaltney moments after the San Bernardino jury deadlocked after his murder trial. Gwaltney's wife can be seen in the backround hugging a juror who voted for acquittal. |
After the verdict was read, Gwaltney's defense team celebrated, exchanging hugs and compliments. Gwaltney was undoubtedly happy, but he didn't show it. Even though the majority of the jury had voted "not guilty", they had not acquitted him. He was not out of the woods yet.
As Gwaltney left the courtroom, he spoke to reporters outside. Though he was pleased with the verdict, he knew that the prosecution would undoubtedly seek a retrial. "I feel disappointed. I think I should have been found not guilty", he commented. "There's going to be many more months before I get the burdens of the world off my shoulders."
Gwaltney was right: this was not yet a done deal. Though he was now free on $30,000 bail, the prosecution remained determined to see the crooked cop pay for his crime. Prosecutor Betty Kennedy petitioned for a retrial, and the judge accepted her request. He set a second trial date for Gwaltney, this time in superior court, for 1983.
The Retrial
In February of 1983, George Gwaltney went on trial again for the murder of Robin Bishop, this time in San Bernardino Superior Court. This time, the prosecution hoped, they would win a conviction against the crooked cop.
Prosecutor Betty Kennedy used much of the same evidence against Gwaltney during the second trial, and Gwaltney and his attorneys used much of the same excuses to discredit it.
Deputy Kaufman testified again that he had seen a highway patrol officer near the access road around the time Robin Bishop was murdered. On March 23, the jury visited the scene of the murder to witness the deputy reenact what he had seen that night. Gwaltney came along to watch.
If Gwaltney was at all troubled by returning to the scene of his crime, he didn't show it. Wearing sunglasses and a plaid shirt, he simply stood and watched the deupty perform his reenactment.
 |
| Jurors visit the access road where Robin Bishop was found murdered. Gwaltney can be seen in the middle, wearing sunglasses and a plaid shirt. |
As before, prosecutor Betty Kennedy brought forth several women who testified about Gwaltney's sexual improprieties. One woman confessed to having an affair with Gwaltney, and testified that she had been taken by Gwaltney to the very same access road where Robin Bishop was found dead, where the two had sex on multiple occasions.
Unbelievably, however, the judge ruled the woman's incriminating testimony inadmissible in court, claiming it had been "solicited".
 |
| George Gwaltney listens as a witness testifies during his second murder trial |
On April 12th, 1983, after hearing six weeks of testimony, the jury retired to deliberate the case. Prosecutors held out hope that, this time, the jury would see through Gwaltney's lies and find him guilty of the heinous crime.
But the prosecution was, yet again, disappointed. On April 18th, 1983, after six days of deliberation, the trial ended in yet another deadlock. Once again, the jury had not been convinced of Gwaltney's guilt. They had voted 7-5, again in favor of acquittal.
For the second time in less than a year, Gwaltney walked out of the courtroom a free man, seemingly invincible in the face of so much damning evidence.
 |
| Holding hands with his wife, George Gwaltney leaves court after his second murder trial ended in a deadlock |
Gwaltney was cautiously optimistic. Again, while he had not been convicted of the murder, Gwaltney had not gotten the acquittal he had hoped for. He had not quite gotten away with his crime, but even Gwaltney knew that, at this point, it was unlikely that he would ever be found guilty. Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, the jury had again refused to convict.
Prosecutors were frustrated but still determined to see Gwaltney go to prison for his crime. After the second mistrial, they petitioned the judge for a third trial. Gwaltney's attorneys filed a counterclaim, contending that there was no basis on which to grant the prosecution a third trial.
Two juries, the defense said, had not only failed to convict Gwaltney but the majority of them had voted to acquit him. With no new evidence, it was clear, the defense said, that a third trial would end with yet another deadlock.
"We've tried the case twice and the substantial majority of jurors voted for not guilty", Porter told the judge. "There's no additional relevant evidence of any significance", he continued, "and I don't think an additional trial would reach any different result."
On May 21st, 1983, Judge Benjamin Kayashima struck the killing blow. Claiming that a third trial would constitute harassment, Kayashima decided to dismiss all of the charges against Gwaltney.
Upon hearing the verdict, Gwaltney smiled a smug, victorious grin. Despite all the evidence against him, he had won. His lies and his deception had paid off, and he had gotten away with his terrible crime.
 |
| George Gwaltney wears a smug smile moments after the judge dismissed all charges against him. |
The decision was a devastating blow to the prosecution, but the hardest hit were Robin Bishop's family. Robin's parents had put their faith in the legal system, praying that it would give them the justice they wanted. This decision was the ultimate betrayal for them. After the verdict was announced, Robin's parents left the courtroom in tears, devastated that their daughter's murder would likely go unpunished.
As Gwaltney walked away a free man yet again, he believed that he could put the whole terrible episode behind him. He could go back to living his life, he thought, unpunished for the heinous crime he had committed.
But the story was not over yet. All while Gwaltney had been on trial, the FBI had been carefully observing the situation due to its involvement of a police officer.
From the ashes of the murder case arose a new criminal case against Gwaltney. There was still one last chance for justice to be served. The murder of Robin Bishop had not only constituted a state crime; it had also been a federal crime. By killing Robin Bishop, Gwaltney had violated her civil rights, and civil rights violations fall under federal, not state, jurisdiction.
Such a case had never been argued in a federal court before, but the FBI was determined not to let George Gwaltney get away with murder. They opened an official civil rights investigation into the crooked cop.
Robin Bishop's family would once again get their chance to see justice be done.
The Wheel of Fortune Turns
In May of 1983, the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office opened an official civil rights investigation into George Gwaltney. Although he could never be tried again for murder in state court, the FBI hoped that a conviction on civil rights violations would be able to put Gwaltney behind bars where he belonged.
But the FBI knew that winning such a case would be difficult. They would still have to work with the same evidence used against Gwaltney in the first two trials - evidence which had failed to convince two juries to convict him of murder. Something, the FBI thought, must have been overlooked. Somewhere in the case files, there was the evidence necessary to put George Gwaltney behind bars.
Examining the crime scene and evidence photographs, the FBI made a critical discovery. One of the photos in the case file was of the contents of the trunk of Gwaltney's patrol car.
Upon closer examination, the investigator discovered that, among the contents of the trunk, there was a small box of Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum ammunition - the same brand of ammunition as the bullet that had killed Robin Bishop.
 |
| A police photograph of items retrieved from the trunk of Gwaltney's patrol car. On the right side of the bin, on top of a leather item, a box of Smith and Wesson .357 ammunition can be seen. Gwaltney had previously testified under oath that he did not carry that type of ammunition in his patrol car. This photograph proved he was lying. |
This was an incriminating find. Gwaltney had previously swore under oath that he did not carry that brand of ammunition in his patrol car. Now the FBI had caught him in a lie, and they had photographic evidence to prove it.
Forensic examiners then examined the bullets themselves. Though Gwaltney's gun could not be used for a ballistics test due to the missing barrel, investigators believed that the bullets themselves could contain a clue.
Bullets tend to be manufactured in "batches" of lead, and each batch has its own unique properties. The percentage of lead content is never 100% - often times the manufacturers will throw in other ingredients into the mix, causing each batch to have a unique chemical property.
The FBI wondered if the chemical properties of the lead bullets recovered in Gwaltney's home could be compared to the chemical properties of the lead in the bullet that killed Robin Bishop. They devised an ingenious test. Lead samples from both pieces of evidence would be bombarded with neutrons in a nuclear reactor, making the lead radioactive. The radiation emitted by the lead would be charted on a computer and would give examiners a precise chemical composition of the lead in each bullet. By comparing the chemical compositions of each bullet, examiners could determine whether or not they were manufctured in the same batch.
Such a test had never been conducted in a forensic case, but the FBI was convinced that the test could conclusively tie the fatal bullet to Gwaltney.
Lead samples from over 200 bullets recovered from Gwaltney's home and lead recovered from the bullet that killed Robin Bishop were each subjected to the nuclear test. The results were astounding.
The chemical composition of the lead recovered from Robin Bishop was identical to lead recovered from 27 different bullets found in George Gwaltney's home. The bullet that had killed Robin had come from the same batch of lead as the bullets that Gwaltney himself owned. It was incredibly damning evidence - evidence that Gwaltney and his defense team would have a hard time challenging.
The FBI's toolmark analysis unit then examined the tools recovered from Gwaltney's garage. Though toolmark analysts had previously compared the tools with marks on Gwaltney's gun frame they had been unable to make a positive match (although they did determine that the marks were consistent with Gwaltney's tools).
Examining a pipe wrench taken from Gwaltney's home, an FBI analyst noticed something that had previously been overlooked; one of the teeth on the wrench was broken. This minor flaw caused the wrench to leave distinctive marks on objects it was used on - marks that were as unique as a fingerprint.
Comparing impressions made with the damaged wrench to the tool marks left on the frame of Gwaltney's gun, the examiner made a positive match. That wrench, to the exclusion of all other tools, had been used to dismantle Gwaltney's service weapon.
Gwaltney's claim that his gun had been stolen was now invalidated by this discovery. There was no way he could explain why his gun, which he claimed had been stolen and then planted in his truck, had been dismantled with tools that he himself owned.
Next, the investigtors turned towards constructing a timeline for the murder. In the first two trials, the prosecution had had difficulty building a precise timeline for the killing.
The prosecution had contended that George Gwaltney had dropped Preston Olsen off at his house around 8:40 PM, had pulled Robin Bishop over at around 9:00 PM, and had killed her at about 9:24 PM after having sex with her. This timeline provided only a narrow 20-minute window for Gwaltney to corner, rape, transport, and kill Robin Bishop.
But the FBI later discovered that the prosecution's story was wrong. When the FBI interviewed Preston Olsen's mother, they learned that Gwaltney had actually dropped the boy off at 8:10 PM, more than half-an-hour earlier than the timeline said he did.
This was a huge discovery. The new timeline now gave Gwaltney ample time - nearly an hour - to pull Robin Bishop over, handcuff her, take her to the access road, rape her, bring her back to the interstate, and kill her.
But the biggest piece of forensic evidence actually came from George Gwaltney himself. The semen evidence recovered from his car and Robin's jeans would ultimately prove his undoing.
Though the prosecution had previously determined that Gwaltney's blood type matched the blood type of the semen found on Robin Bishop's jeans and in the patrol car, the evidence had not been specific enough to implicate the crooked cop. But the FBI later discovered an overlooked characteristic of the semen that made it unique.
When he was younger, Gwaltney had gotten a vasectomy (severing of the seminal tubes), but later had it reversed.
When a vasectomy is reversed, the body can sometimes react to semen seeping into the bloodstream as if it is an invading organism, and this leads to the production of antisperm antibodies. Such a condition is rare, affecting less than 2.5% of men who have their vasectomies reversed.
The FBI consulted with scientists at the Serological Research Institute to see if George Gwaltney had suffered from this condition. They sent samples of Gwaltney's sperm and samples of the sperm found at the crime scene to the institute to be tested for the presence of these antisperm antibodies.
The results were damning. In both Gwaltney's semen and the semen recovered from the crime scene, investigators discovered high levels of antisperm antibodies. Combined with the fact that the blood types of each sample were identical, this meant that the semen found in Robin Bishop's jeans could only have come from 0.006% of the population. The odds that someone other than George Gwaltney could have raped Robin Bishop were 1 in 60,000,000.
 |
| In this FBI videotape, antisperm antibodies from the semen recovered from Robin Bishop's jeans can be seen attaching themselves to a spem cell under a microscope. Gwaltney's reversed vasectomy caused his body to produce large amounts of antisperm antibodies, making his semen unique and proving he was the man who raped Robin Bishop. |
On November 10th, 1983, after a painstaking six-month investigation, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted George Gwaltney on civil rights violations.
Gwaltney was arrested at his home in Barstow and charged in federal court with violating Robin Bishop's civil rights to life, liberty, and due process of law. As before, Gwaltney pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was ordered to be held on $20,000 bail.
This time, prosecutors hoped, he would never return home.
Justice Served
On January 17th, 1984, George Gwaltney went on trial in Los Angeles Federal District Court for violating Robin Bishop's civil rights. Knowing that the FBI had created a damning case against him, and that he had backed himself into a corner, Gwaltney chose not to testify in court. His lies no longer held the power they once had.
In his opening statement, the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Kendall, told the jury that George Gwaltney had killed Robin Bishop, and he had killed her for only one reason: to keep her silent.
Robin Bishop, said Kendall, was the most innocent of victims. She had been taught to respect the law. She had put her ultimate trust in Gwaltney, and Gwaltney had taken advantage of his badge and his authority in order to use Robin for sex.
The evidence that Gwaltney was guilty was overwhelming. The prosecution had over 150 individual items of evidence, including the bullet evidence, the tool mark evidence, the revised timeline, the semen evidence, and Gwaltney's own lies - all of which painted a disturbing picture of the once-respected cop.
 |
| An FBI agent loads a box of evidence to be used in George Gwaltney's trial |
One by one, the prosecution shot holes into George Gwaltney's cover story. The walls began to close in. From the outset, it was clear that the federal trial would not be a repeat of the two state trials. Now the prosecution had hard forensic evidence that Gwaltney was the very criminal that they claimed he was.
Gwaltney's attorney, Brian Robbins, tried his best to discredit the prosecution's evidence. Robbins told the jury to focus on Sheriff Kaufman's description of the CHP officer seen near the access road that night. Kaufman, said Robbins, had described the officer as a bald man in his late 50s, which, he said, would eliminate Gwaltney as a suspect.
But Robbins was unable to discredit the forensic evidence against his client. Although he called forth his own expert witnesses in an attempt to discredit the semen and bullet evidence, Robbins could not explain the tool mark evidence or the fact that Gwaltney had lied multiple times under oath. There was no explaining away the gun frame, the tools, or Gwaltney's lies. The evidence against his client was impossible to sweep under the rug.
 |
| Federal Prosecutor Richard Kendall shows Gwaltney's dismantled gun frame to the jury |
In the end, at long last, Gwaltney was finally held accountable for his terrible crime. The jury finally saw Gwaltney for who he really was: a crooked cop, a sexual predator, and a murderer.
On May 10th, 1984, after just one day of deliberation, the federal jury found George Michael Gwaltney guilty of civil rights violations for killing Robin Bishop. The once highly-respected cop who had previously seemed invincible was now a convicted murderer.
Gwaltney's wife burst into tears upon hearing the verdict, but Gwaltney showed no emotion whatsoever. He simply stared at the floor, silent and stone-faced.
 |
| George Gwaltney stares at the floor as the judge pronounces him guilty of civil rights violations |
The verdict brought an end to the long, painful journey that Robin Bishop's family had endured. After the guilty verdict was read, Robin Bishop's father embraced Kendall. "God bless you, friend!", Robin's father cried as he embraced the prosecutor. "God bless you!".
On June 21st, 1984, George Gwaltney appeared in court to be sentenced. Before the sentence was pronounced, Judge Pamela Rymer allowed Gwaltney to make a statement.
Gwaltney didn't have much to say. "I stand by my plea of innocence", the convicted murderer said in a quiet, defeated voice. "I killed no one."
Before pronouncing the sentence, Judge Rymer berated and decried Gwaltney for his crime. "You are a man who betrayed your badge and your trust. You took advantage of your authority and used it to take advantage of an innocent person. To not give you the maximum sentence would diminish the value of human life in this case", the judge said.
"Nobody", the judge concluded, "is above the law".
Judge Rymer sentenced Gwaltney to 90 years in federal prison for his crimes - the maximum penalty available under federal law. The crooked cop who had nearly gotten away from his crime would never see the light of day ever again. Robin Bishop had finally gotten the justice she deserved.
 |
| George Gwaltney glares at Judge Pamela Rymer as she sentences him to 90 years in prison |
Gwaltney was sent to FCI Ashland, a federal prison in Kentucky, to serve out his sentence. He appealed his conviction once - alleging unfair sentencing and prosecutorial misconduct - but the 9th Circuit Court unanimously denied his appeal in 1986. Under federal law at the time, Gwaltney would become eligible for parole after serving 30 years of his sentence, but, in the end, that date never came.
13 years after his conviction, on November 17th, 1997, George Michael Gwaltney died in prison of a heart attack at the age of 56. To the very end, the crooked cop never confessed to the murder of Robin Bishop, still insisting, despite all evidence, that he was the victim of a frame-up.
Police Accountability: What We Can Learn From Gwaltney
The case of George Gwaltney perfectly illustrates the problem we have with police accountability, and the problem has most certainly not gone away. If anything, it had gotten much worse.
As I said at the outset, nobody can deny that the police have a difficult and often dangerous job. I am a firm and ardent supporter of law enforcement, and I have been critical of the anti-police movements on both the left and right wing. Police officers deserve our respect and our admiration, and we should always be thankful for their committment and the sacrifices they make in order to keep us safe.
But this is all the more reason why we need to hold police officers fully accountable for their actions. With great power, as the old saying goes, comes great responsibility. We entrust the police with a lot of important duties. We rely on them to keep our communities safe, to keep our children safe, and to properly conduct their jobs as public servants. And, when that trust is broken, we have to make sure we hold crooked cops fully responsible for their crimes.
Police officers must be held fully accountable for their actions, because an unregulated policeman is a dangerous policeman. Too often, we hear stories today of police officers shooting innocent people, only to be acquitted of all charges by juries. Many times, cases of police misconduct don't even go to trial.
George Gwaltney was able to do what he did because he knew that police accountability was very limited. He knew that he could get away with his sexual improprieties with women because he knew there was a big power imbalance between him and the women he targeted. Gwaltney knew that juries were more likely to believe a police officer over a common citizen, especially when that common citizen was a woman.
Had anyone else been accused of the crimes Gwaltney committed, they would have almost certainly been convicted on their first trial. But the jurors in Gwaltney's first two trials were simply unable to comprehend the possibility that a police officer could have committed such a crime. Even in the face of overwhelming incriminating evidence, they voted to acquit Gwaltney of murder. And the only reason they did so was because he was a cop.
While Gwaltney was, in the end, finally brought to justice, it was only because of the relentless efforts of dedicated forensic scientists and countless hours of dogged detective work by the FBI.
Gwaltney very nearly got away with murder. A sexual predator was very nearly released back into society, where he could continue to pose an extreme danger to innocent people everywhere.
We have seen the consequences of a lack of police accountability. Police are more likely to use deadly force in improper situations; to shoot first and ask questions later. Innocent people have been killed by police officers, and those police officers have not been held responsible.
What's worse, this lack of accountability not only empowers crooked cops to commit more crimes, but it also fuels resentment of law enforcement among those who are already dissatisfied with the police. Dedicated and honorable police officers now have to deal with an ugly stigma because of the actions of bad cops.
This is, of course, not to say that all cops are bad. In fact, it was the police themselves who were able to uncover George Gwaltney's misdeeds and send him to prison for it.
But, in the words of an old idiom: "One bad apple spoils the bunch". When we do not hold the few bad cops accountable for their crimes, we hurt good cops as well. We feed the flames of fear and distrust of police, and put the lives of not just the public, but also the cops themselves, at risk.
One of the reasons that tensions between the black community and law enforcement are so fraught with tension is because we have not held crooked cops fully accountable for their actions. That is something that needs to change right now.
A police force without proper accountability is not a public service - rather, it is a public menace.
Comments
Post a Comment