Ronstadt, Peter

This interview was recorded on February 3rd, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona and it covers the following themes:

b. 1942 

  • Father’s home construction near Rillito River after Second World War. High groundwater tables. Planting eucalyptus. Valley of the Moon. Horseback riding.  

  • Exploring downtown Tucson as a child. Congress Street bars. 

  • Religion and singing in choir. Tucson Boys Chorus.  

  • Hunting and camping with parents in the Altar Valley. Aircraft noise. 

  • Development in the 1950s. Winterhaven. 

  • Building small house on family’s property. 

  • Attending Tucson High. Opening of Catalina High School. 

  • Tucson’s eastward expansion. 

  • Interest in playing rock music. Attending University of Arizona in early 1960s, ROTC, dating, car culture. 

  • Childhood interest in music. 

  • Dropping out of UA in 1964. Traveling in Europe as a young adult. 

  • Attitudes towards police as a child. Joining the Tucson Police Department in 1965. Bernard Garmire department changes. Father’s attitude towards police. 

  • Drugs and organized crime in Tucson: tongs, Joe Bonano. 

  • The reforms of TPD chief Garmire.  

  • Crime in downtown Tucson in the 1960s. 

  • Trying to professionalize police force. 

  • Getting shot at in Tucson during the night of Los Angeles’ Watts Riot. Reconsidering police/community relations. 

  • Work as beat cop. Policing and race in 1960s Tucson.  

  • Miranda rights. Changing police training. 

  • 1960s/1970s protests and interaction with activists. El Rio Golf Course occupation. Development of City infrastructure for more community involvement. 

This interview was recorded on February 10th, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona and it covers the following themes:

  • Reasons for leaving UA as an undergraduate. 

  • Working on maintaining stock well pumps for family business. 

  • Resuming UA degree while working at TPD. 

  • Decision to pursue police administration in 1970s. Interest in changing officer training: teaching officers about local culture, working with indigenous and Hispanic groups. 

  • Changing shifts and staffing patterns. 

  • Introduction of computers and data analytics. 

  • More non-officers joining Police Department. 

  • Policing in the 1970s. Perceptions of police are national. Interest in greater communication skills. 

  • 1980s gang culture, fragmenting of drug organizations, and “war on drugs.” Local Tucson gangs. 

  • Militarization of police and public armament. 

  • Work as police captain. 

  • Tenure as chief of police. 

  • Retirement. 

  • Being a police officer with a famous relative and a well-known local family. 

  • Description of Ronstadt Hardware Company’s store. Decline of downtown and industrial retail. 

Aengus Anderson