Mr. Wambaugh’s best-selling books included the Los Angeles police novels “The New Centurions” and the true crime drama “The Onion Field.”

Bestselling crime novelist Joseph Wambaugh, who mined his own experience as a Los Angeles police officer, has died at 88.

Unlike those on 'Dragnet' and other cop shows, Wambaugh's fictional officers were often compromised and deeply flawed characters