He was put on disability and retired from the force in 1988. In 1980, Osmond was shot in a chase with a suspected car thief, though he was saved by his bulletproof vest. Osmond joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1970 and grew a mustache to be less recognizable. When the series ended, Osmond continued working as an actor, appearing on “Petticoat Junction,” “The Munsters” and a return appearance on “Lassie.” He appeared in feature films “C’mon, Let’s Live a Little” and “With Six You Get Eggroll,” but found himself typecast as Eddie Haskell. During the final years of the show, Osmond was in the U.S. He was a high school friend of Wally Cleaver, older brother of Theodore “the Beaver” Cleaver, and constantly trying to entice his friends into activities that would get them into trouble. Osmond portrayed Haskell as sycophantic to grownups while making fun of them behind their backs. In 1957, Osmond auditioned for the Eddie Haskell role, which was originally intended to be a guest appearance, but those involved with the show were so impressed with Osmond’s portrayal that the character became a key component of the series throughout its six-season run of 234 episodes. When he asked about the incidents, Osmond said, department spokesmen had no reply.Osmond, a native of Glendale began his career as a child actor with his first speaking part at age 9 in the film “So Big,” starring Jane Wyman and Sterling Hayden, followed by “Good Morning, Miss Dove” and “Everything but the Truth.” He also guest-starred on television series, including “Lassie,” “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” “Wagon Train,” “Fury” and “The Loretta Young Show.” He said he was unaware of any complaint by a citizen or his supervisors that prompted the investigation. On another occasion in the mid-1970s, while working at North Hollywood Division, Osmond admitted that after learning he was being investigated by two vice sergeants who had secretly tape-recorded him, he burglarized his captain’s office, looking for the authorization form. “It was just one of the more flagrant reasons to believe that a policeman doesn’t have any rights, and a policeman has nobody behind him except himself,” Osmond said. He said he was called into Internal Affairs and asked to disrobe to prove his real identity. He charged that in 1971, he became a victim of mistaken identity and was thought to be pornographic film star John Holmes. “It’s not ‘Do a good job and you’ll be rewarded.’ It’s ‘Do a bad job and we’re going to get you.’ There is no middle ground,” Osmond said of the department. “I don’t think I could work for the Police Department in any capacity because it’s totally useless,” he said. Osmond refused to discuss his case with a reporter Thursday, but in his testimony last December before the hearing examiner, he said “thousands” of incidents over the years pushed him into leaving the department. Osmond returned to police work after the shootings, but developed depression and other stress-related symptoms, psychiatrists told the Pension Board. “It gave me a great deal of doubt as to the camaraderie that I had been taught existed ever since I first entered the (Police) Academy,” he said. Osmond said he was only visited twice by supervisors when he went off sick in 19. A month later, a bullet fired by a security guard reportedly came so close to Osmond that it parted his hair. In one incident, a gunman shot him in the chest, but he survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Osmond survived two shooting incidents that psychiatrists believed accelerated his depression. Osmond testified during a hearing last December that years of patrol duties, a brush with death in 1980 and run-ins with supervisors left him with feelings of anger, frustration and disgust. Osmond, who joined the force in 1970, could have received $1,698 a month tax free for life had his application for a service-connected pension been granted. Since that time, commissioners have approved far fewer stress-related disability pensions.įrom 1980 to 1984, the board granted 175 pensions for disabilities where job stress was a primary factor. The commission took a hard look at the Osmond case after stories appeared in The Times last year detailing a dramatic rise in the number of stress-related pensions paid by the city. Osmond has 90 days to appeal for a rehearing and another 90 days thereafter to appeal to Superior Court. But Gagnon said Osmond would probably not return immediately. Ed Gagnon, said Thursday that he would ask Osmond to return to the force today, adding that the department would have a light-duty job available for him. The Police Department’s medical liaison officer, Lt.
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