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Game of Crimes

25: Part 2: Rick Massa and the LAPD North Hollywood Shootout

Game of Crimes

Game of Crimes

True Crime

4.81.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2021

⏱️ 126 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Rick Massa was a member of LAPD SWAT, some of the most elite operators in law enforcement. All of their training would be put to the test on February 28, 1997. For two years the High Incident Bandits had robbed armored cars and Bank of America branches. This duo was heavily armed with body armor and automatic weapons. They were the first bank robbers known to use armored-piercing ammunition. This was a nightmare scenario for law enforcement. 

Two LAPD officers headed to another call did a double-take when they spotted the dangerous pair walking into a Bank of America. The resulting gun fight was the biggest in US law enforcement history. This is a story of uncommon valor against the most dangerous of odds. 



Transcript

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0:00.0

Rick Masa is engaged in the biggest gun battle in U.S. history with one of the high incident

0:17.4

bandits.

0:18.8

As he goes to take another shot at the bandit, he discovers he has a really big problem.

0:24.9

So while I'm shooting him, the one thing you never want to do is go to slide lock.

0:31.7

That's where you're out of ammo when you're gun.

0:34.3

So I figure, okay, I'm going to do a tactical reload.

0:37.2

I'll take the magazine out, save it in case I need it again, put a new magazine in.

0:42.3

So I go down and you should always have that magazine coming up first.

0:46.2

So I go to do a roll over on my side and prone out.

0:49.9

We're still engaged.

0:50.9

I go down to my pants pocket and there, there's no magazines there.

0:55.9

I thought, oh shit, you know what next?

1:00.1

And I look over at the side of our, because I'm at the back of the police car, I look

1:04.5

over where I came out of the car and how ironic all four magazines are just laying there

1:11.3

on the ground.

1:12.3

Welcome to Game of Crimes.

1:31.4

So where did you guys get geared up at?

1:33.2

Was that before you hopped in the car, did you have to wait to get geared up until you

1:36.7

got somewhere because, you know, at some point you got, you got vest, got to get your

1:40.6

weapon.

1:41.6

So at what point do you guys gear up?

1:43.6

I was able to put my utilities on there.

...

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