David Mack
David Anthony Mack (May 30th, 1961 - ) was a former Police Officer and former prisoner.
Early Life edit
As an athlete, Mack ran track for the Locke High School and was champion at the CIF California state meet at 880 yards, two years in a row. He earned a scholarship to the University of Oregon, where he ran track. After finishing sixth in the Olympic Trials in 1980, he qualified for the United States national team, running the 800 metres in the 1983 World Championships in Athletics. Mack won three Pac-10 conference titles and an NCAA championship in the 800 meters. Mack's personal best time of 1 minute, 43.35 seconds is the fifth fastest American in history. A leg injury kept him out of the 1984 Summer Olympics and after a final appearance at the 1987 Championships in Athletics, the injury ultimately cut short his track career.
Police Career edit
Mack joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1988. He first worked as a patrol officer and then as an undercover narcotics officer. He next moved to a late shift in West Los Angeles. Mack began a relationship
with Errolyn Romero, a nineteen-year-old ticket taker at the Baldwin Theatre, in 1990. Mack was awarded the LAPD Medal of Heroism in 1993 for shooting a drug dealer who threatened his partner, Rafael "Ray" Perez, with a gun during an undercover drug operation.
Bank Robbery edit
In August 1997 Errolyn Romero became employed at a Bank of America branch near the University of Southern California campus. On November 6, 1997, Mack entered the bank and claimed he wanted to access his Safe Deposit Box. Romero admitted him to the secure area, where he threw her to the floor and robbed the vault of $722,000. In her capacity as branch assistant manager, Romero had ordered double the usual amount of cash to be on hand at the bank on the day of the robbery. After one month of investigation, Romero confessed to her role in the crime and implicated her boyfriend, Mack, as the mastermind. Mack was arrested in December 1997. His two accomplices were not caught. Mack was sentenced to 14 years 3 months in prison. He has never revealed the whereabouts of the money. He was released on May 14th, 2010.
The Killing of Notorious B.I.G edit
In April 2007 the estate of Christopher George Latore Wallace, a rapper who performed under the name Notorious B.I.G, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, which also named officers Nino Durden, Pérez, and Mack as defendants. The lawsuit alleged that the officers conspired to murder Wallace, and that Pérez and Mack were present the night of the murder on March 9th, 1997. In 2010, the Wallace family voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit and their claims against the city and the officers.