Former Los Angeles police officer turned best- selling author Joseph Wambaugh, known for books such as "The Onion Field" and "The New Centurions," has died at the age of 88.

Former Los Angeles police officer turned best- selling author Joseph Wambaugh, known for books such as "The Onion Field" and "The New Centurions," has died, according to multiple media outlets. He was 88.

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

Joseph Wambaugh, who has died aged 88, was a former Los Angeles detective who in the 1970s became a bestselling author of grim and gritty books about the police such as The Onion Field (1973) and The Choirboys (1975);

Joseph Wambaugh, a former police officer who became an acclaimed bestselling author, introducing audiences to the gritty, stark realities faced by fellow street cops, died Friday. He was 88. The longtime San Diego resident died of esophageal cancer in his second home in Rancho Mirage,