Cops: Their Lives in Their Own Words by Mark Baker is a book of police war stories, first published in 1985. The stories are wild. Police work has changed quite a bit since then, but it remains an eye-opening collection.Here's a 2002 review which captures the content quite well.
A preview is available online via Google Books.
Page 28 contains a harrowing story of a rookie handling an accident with multiple fatalities; a warning, however: the tragedy involves young children. It certainly predates mandatory infant car seats and seatbelt laws, although in this head-on collision, a seat belt might not have saved anyone. It's a shocker.
The cover contains a blurb from Elmore Leonard: "As authentic as you can get...that's the way it is."
If you have any war stories you'd like to share, post them in the comments section, or write your own blog post and send the link ~ I'll update this page. If you're interested in writing a guest post here on War Story Wednesday, give me a shout @ katcop13 at gmail dot com.
Kathleen - Thanks for this info on Cops: Their Lives in Their Own Words. I wasn't familiar with this book, but it looks really interesting. I'm going to have to look for it.
ReplyDeleteHi Margot ~ I remember reading it early in my police career. Mark Baker did extensive work to gather these stories.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this. Sounds worthwhile, especially for crime writers
ReplyDeleteHi Charles,
ReplyDeleteIt's the real deal ~ stories from cops about their lives ~ it might very well be useful for crime writers ~ great point.