Celebrity Sightings

This article is not to brag... I am not friends with any of these people, nor would I have had the opportunity to meet them I did if I was not a police officer, at the right place and at the right time. This is just for fun so that you can see a different side of these celebrities.

Neve Campbell -I knew a man who provided security for the actress. He told me that I could go in the police car to meet her. One evening my partner and I went to her house, and buzzed the front gate. The gate opened and she came outside along with several of her dogs. There was also another woman there that I didn't immediately recognize, but then she said her name, Rachel True. Rachel was a co-star of Neve's on the movie, The Craft. We probably stayed too long but we all had a great conversation, and Neve gave us a tour of her home, and of the unbelievable back yard. She had a pool, but it was down the hill and you could barely see it. She also had a great view of the ocean. After that, I saw her several times as I drove by and waved. She was a really nice person.

Tom Cruise - I met Tom on the day that his divorce from Nicole Kidman was finalized. Our watch commander called us to the lawyer's office where it was taking place with the mission to get him out safely. When we got there we met with Tom's security team and formulated a plan to get him out safely. The paparazzo was all over the place, as you can imagine. Tom then got into his car and I spoke with him briefly about what we were going to do, and then he shook my hand and said thank you graciously. We then got him out of there and he drove up to his house, well, actually Nicole's house after that, and got him there safely.

A couple of weeks later I saw his driver and the new SUV that he had made. It was a black Ford Excursion, with only two seats in the back. There was a partition behind the driver where a 30" television screen popped up. The two seats were recliner type seats and the whole back end was meant for luxury. The SUV also had a front and rear camera that recorded while they drove to catch any paparazzi who tried to interfere with their driving.

Anthony Hopkins - Anthony was having problems with a stalker at his home. We would go by his house to provide extra patrol and to make sure that everything was all right. We had no seen anything unusual so I took the opportunity, when he was eating alone at an outdoor restaurant, to strike up a conversation with him. It turns out that he was going to move (a couple of blocks away) and that he had not heard from or seen the stalker in several weeks. We continued to have a short conversation but I left him quickly because he was eating. The cool thing was that I saw him the next week and he remembered my name. Of course, he would not remember it now. He was a lovely man to speak with... Out of all of the celebrities that I have met, Anthony was the one that truly impressed my wife.

Ray Liotta - Ray was doing some research on a movie that he was going to do... It turns out that the movie was Narc. He asked some police procedural questions, and he was a very cool guy. I only got to speak with him for about 10 to 15 minutes, but it was a lot of fun knowing that some of the tips that I gave him may have affected the way that he acted in the movie. He was a friend of one of my partners, so I got to see him several times after that...

Cindy Crawford - I had always thought that Cindy was a beautiful woman, but when I met her in person, I realized why she was one of the first Supermodels. Like Anthony Hopkins, she was having a problem with a stalker. We had given her and her residence several weeks of extra patrol. One Sunday, we were driving by, and since we hadn't seen anything, I decided to buzz the front gate. I was just expecting to talk to the control panel on the gate when the gate opened. I saw her, and her husband, Randy Gerber, standing about 40 feet from the gate. She motioned for us to come over and my partner was scared and didn't get out of the car. I then walked over and told them why I was there. After they told me that everything was fine, we had a great conversation about restaurants and the area. It was a lot of fun and I realized just how super gorgeous she is. She had on a summer dress and very little make-up... I left in shock and awe of her beauty, and how nice her and her husband were.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher - When I was working undercover, we heard a radio call of "Unknown Trouble," (this usually means that someone called the police and hung up the phone) at the Kabbalah Center in our area. We were right around the corner as the call came out over the radio so we decided to go. One of our partners had called in sick so we had three investigators in the car that night.

We entered the Kabbalah Center and, since we were in plain clothes, brought our badges and identification cards to show the security guards and managers. Once we got in, we got a serious surprise. Demi and Ashton were wondering how they were going to get out of the center. The paparazzi had all of the entryways blocked, as this is when Demi and Ashton started dating. We met Demi first and she was very nice to us. Ashton was very upset at the paparazzi and was talking loudly. We formulated a plan for them to get out. Their car, a Mercedes S class, was parked in the front where we had parked. I volunteered to driver their car around the back of the building to create a diversion. As I was communicating with my partners that I was around the back, they escaped through the front and got into our undercover car (a Honda Accord, black with black tinted windows). We then drove around until we came upon a silent side street. I later found out what a great time my partners had with Demi and Ashton in their car, as I was driving alone in the Mercedes. We exchanged cars, spoke for about a minute, and they drove off. It was a blast meeting them, and playing a cat and mouse game to get away. One member of the paparazzi did find out where we were and took some photos, Ashton of course, got really upset again. It was blinding to their eyes to have the flash of the camera in their faces; but I guess that is what happens when you are uber famous.

Fred Savage - Fred was a victim of a road rage when he first started driving. My partner and I got to the scene to take the police report because he had also been hit, although not hard. As we were there, his brother, Ben, and his parents showed up to the scene. We started to show his family the inside of the police car, our computer, and equipment. It turns out that he has about the nicest family that you could hope for. His brother, who also later became famous, was really cool, and his parents were very down to earth. Fred was also really nice even though he was just a victim of a crime. We got to spend almost a half of an hour with them as we processed the report.

Zsa Zsa Gabor - We got a call to her house and got to meet Zsa Zsa in person. I think that she had been drinking, or maybe that was just the way she was. I told my partner to be careful since she had assaulted the police officer before in Beverly Hills. I didn't want any trouble. We handled the call and she seemed happy with what we had done. I was happy to get out of her mansion, as I was not looking forward to becoming a celebrity myself if she would have slapped me... Although I probably deserve to get slapped every once in a while.

Gene Simmons - I responded to a radio call at the home of Gene Simmons. It is the same mansion that he is still in and was featured on his television show, Family Jewels. While we were there, the pizza delivery guy showed up. Usually, one person delivers the pizza. But when a pizza is delivered to his house, it is always two people (this time, it was a guy and a girl). Both dressed in black, and obvious fans. Gene snidely said that whenever he gets deliveries, they always bring a friend. I thought that it was pretty funny, but it seemed like he was a little annoyed by it. He signed for the pizza and off they went, giggling.

OJ Simpson - This was several years after he was acquitted for the murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. My wife and I were having a great meal at a local Mexican Restaurant. In walks OJ with a woman who looked just like Nicole Brown. I was dumbfounded, as was my wife. Seeing the blonde woman walking right behind him, I thought that the whole murder thing was just a joke. As they walked by, I realized, of course, that it was not Nicole Brown, but rather a woman who looked just like her. My wife and I lost out appetite as he sat down, next to us, and ordered his food. The wait staff of the restaurant treated him like royalty, and we decided to leave. I had seen the photos of Nicole Brown's body from the murder, and knew that he did it from all of the evidence. We decided not to get his autograph.

A couple of celebrity sightings, where I didn't meet them but was very close to and maybe just exchanged greetings: Pete Sampras, Virginia Madsen, Denise Richards, Noah Wyle (from ER), Mark Harmon, Jim Belushi (and his German Shepherds), Ron Howard (twice, once getting off of the same airplane, and another going into a movie theatre), Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger (in Starbucks before he was governor), Reece Witherspoon (we used to eat at the same California Pizza Kitchen), Kareem Abdul Jabbar (also in the same restaurant that my wife and I went to a couple of times), and most recently, Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian. They were in a restaurant where my wife and I celebrated our 9th year wedding anniversary. It was sad, they looked like they were having a horrible time, and Reggie was on his phone (probably texting), the whole time.

Some of the celebrities that I would love to meet are Sir Sean Connery, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts. You never know, someday, I might pull one of them over...